Torment
by Aleissa
Summary: Set in between Pleasures of a Dark Prince and Demon From the Dark.  Gareth and Lucia have both been captured by the mortals who are intent on destroying the Lore. WARNING! M for language, Non-Con, and Lemons!
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this is my first go at this so I hope you all enjoy it! This is set in between Pleasures of a Dark Prince and Demon from the Dark, so if you have not read those I would recommend not reading this!**

**I own nothing; all characters belong to the fabulous Kresley Cole!**

**WARNING! There will be some very disturbing scenes in this fic! I wanted to explore the idea of what would be the worst possible torment for a Lykae after reading about the "experimentation" in Demon from the Dark and this is what I came up with.**

**Please R&R!**

"The most powerful weapons in my arsenal? Killer aim, killer wit, killer bod. Oh, and a killer werewolf hubby with jealousy issues."  
-Lucia, Valkyrie and Peerless Archer (Yes, that includes you, Tera of the Fey!)

"My mate is the most beautiful female in the world. If you disagree, I'll cut out your malfunctioning eyes. If you agree, best not be too vocal about it or I'll cut out your fucking eyes."  
-Gareth, Prince of all Lykae

Lucia walked into the building as if she belonged there. She had no idea where Gareth might be held in the ordinary-looking skyscraper, but she figured her chances of finding him were better if she acted like a confident member of the office team rather than skulking in under cover of darkness. The mortals in charge of this operation clearly had plenty of immortal help, powerful beings who would surely be guarding the building at night. Otherwise, they would never have been able to hold Gareth against his will.

Forcing doubts from her mind about the wisdom of coming on her own, Lucia sniffed delicately as she entered the revolving door. No scent of him, but then again, her keen sense of smell was not nearly as acute as her mate's, so detecting him though scent alone in this towering, labyrinthine structure would be challenging.

Deciding that pausing in the entranceway was unwise, Lucia strode towards the elevators directly ahead of her. She would go to the top floor first, where the director of this operation kept his office. The foolish mortal would give her answers or he would suffer. She would simply have to deal with any immortals who might stand in her way.

Fury flooded through her at the thought of Loreans serving mortals. And helping them target rival factions of the Lore, no less. She felt her claws straighten in aggression and was forced to curl her fingers inward in order to hide it.

Internalizing her rage, Lucia gave a beatific smile to the man operating the elevator. His eyes roved over her appreciatively in a way she most certainly did not appreciate. But she hid her annoyance at this mortal's presumption and merely held her smile, widening her eyes in order to appear more approachable.

"Excuse me, sir," she purred. "I need to meet with the director. I'm here interviewing for a new secretarial position, and I'm not sure where to go. You look like a man who knows your way around." She smiled invitingly so he would not mistake her innuendo.

The pathetic man cleared his throat in an uncomfortable way. "I'm not sure. I'm not supposed to take people up to the upper levels without the proper clearance. I can make a call…"

That simply would not do. Lucia allowed her eyes to well up with tears. "But that might make me late! Please, just take me directly up. I can't risk not getting this job! I'm all on my own and will lose my house if I can't pay this month's rent!" She allowed the tears to spill over her cheeks.

"Please, sir, won't you help me?" she peered at him plaintively from beneath her wet lashes.

The man shifted uncomfortably. "Um, well, yes… I suppose I could make an exception… You seem harmless enough…"

Sucker.

A dazzling smile lit up her face. "Thank you, thank you so much! This really will make all the difference!" She hugged the man, pressing her breasts up against his chest. "I just can't tell you how much I appreciate it," she murmured demurely. God, she was acting as lewdly as Regin! She bit down on her distaste.

_This is for Gareth. Try not to think about what a slut you look like right now…_

"Ah, well, its really no problem," the man was beginning to grow hard against her, and at least he had the good grace to blush and quickly extricate himself from her embrace. He twisted a gold band guiltily on the ring finger of his left hand.

Lucia softened towards him and made a mental note not to kill him later if things got ugly. He really was quite a decent idiot, it seemed. She supposed she couldn't blame him for reacting to her; she was stunning, after all.

After that, they rode up to the forty-fifth floor in silence as the man shifted awkwardly from foot to foot and Lucia dabbed at her eyes and checked her appearance in a compact in a show of mortal vanity. Good, her braids were still safely covering her pointed ears.

With a cheerful ding, the elevator signaled that they had arrived at the designated floor. Lucia went to step out, giving the porter a kiss on the cheek on her way out the door.

"Thanks. You're an angel!" She whispered.

"Uh, no problem."

The elevator doors slid shut behind her with a muffled thump.

_This is where it gets sticky_, Lucia thought.

Her charm, though considerable, would only get her so far, and she seriously doubted that she could fight her way through everyone in the building and still get to Gareth in one piece. Especially if there were more than just mortals with guns on the premises at the moment.

If Gareth was even on these premises.

_Don't think like that!_ She chided herself.

It was just so unlike level-headed Lucia to go barging in like this without a clear plan. It didn't sit well with her. But she would be damned if she allowed one more day to pass by while her allies strategized when Gareth was in danger!

Betraying none of her uncertainty, she strode up to the circular desk directly in front of the elevator where a harassed young woman sat, busily answering the phone while working on the computer at the same time.

When Lucia reached the desk, she had to wave to get the girl's attention. Startled, the young woman looked up at her questioningly.

"I have an appointment with the director," she stated confidently.

"Oh, are you his eleven o'clock? Miss…?"

Lucia snuck a glance at the computer monitor where the director's schedule was clearly displayed. Eleven was supposed to be a meeting with a Mr. O'Rourke. Crap.

"I'm actually a last-minute fill-in for Mr. O'Rourke. He's not feeling well today, so he sent me along in his stead. I'm his personal assistant, Tracy Clarke."

"Oh," the secretary blinked in surprise. "Mr. Stanton has never met with anyone other than Mr. O'Rourke himself. I don't know how he will feel about seeing someone different. I'm sorry, but I will have to check with him to make sure that this is okay."

She peered at her phone, which was lit up with blinking lights like a Christmas tree.

"It seems he is still on a conference call, but I will check with him as soon as he is finished. Would you mind having a seat?"

She gestured towards a row of plush armchairs lining the wall.

Crap. If she didn't get in that office soon, Mr. O'Rourke himself was sure to arrive and blow her cover before she could ask her questions. But it was far too soon to openly resort to force.

Lucia plastered on an understanding smile.

"Of course. I understand. But would you mind if I use the restroom while you make the call? I would like to freshen up if Mr. Stanton does agree to meet with me."

"No problem," the woman returned her smile. "Down the hall and to the left."

Lucia nodded her thanks and headed in that direction. However, she did not stop at the wooden door marked with a stick figure in a dress. She marched right past it with an air of purpose and a look of superiority that dared anyone to question her right to be there.

But everyone she passed hardly spared her a glance, and she continued toward the office at the end of the hallway unimpeded.

"Edward Stanton" was emblazoned on the door in imposing gold lettering.

_This is it_, Lucia thought to herself as she turned the doorknob hard, casually breaking the lock as she forced the door open.

She had thought to catch the director by surprise, but he just smiled at her genially, despite the fact that she had just barged her way into his office unannounced.

Warning prickles danced their way up her spine, and she knew that she didn't have long until she would have to turn to violence.

The man was clearly mortal and no match for her strength. She coiled her muscles, preparing to spring over the desk separating her from Edward Stanton and get some answers her way.

But she was stopped short by a strong arm which closed around her windpipe from behind with shocking speed. She was lifted her off the floor by her neck. Her hands flew to the corded muscles of the forearm which was now cutting off her air. Her sharpened claws dug into her attacker's skin, tearing away bits of flesh, but the arm only tightened around her throat, causing her delicate bones to scream in protest as they ground together.

Through her blurring vision, she could see Stanton smiling.

"Just in time, Jon. I was worried you might be late," he addressed the hulking- and definitely immortal- male who was threatening to separate her head from her body if he increased his grip.

"Would you like me to dispose of her?" The brute's dispassionate voice came from behind her.

"No," Stanton's smile twisted into a leer. "Don't you recognize her? This is Lucia the Archer, Gareth MacRieve's mate. I think having possession of her will greatly aid us in our task. Physical pain does not seem to affect the Lykae in any lasting way. But I have heard that threatening their mates brings out the worst in them, and harming their female can madden them beyond recall. This will allow us to test the greatest weakness in the breed."

No no no! Lucia would not aid them in harming Gareth! She was here to rescue him!

The growl that was meant to issue from her throat turned to a strangled whine as her crushed voice box protested. She renewed her struggles against her captor, kicking out behind her. But she could gain no leverage, and the few hits that did connect seemed to have no effect on her massive captor.

She might be able to survive strangulation, but that did not mean that she could retain consciousness without oxygen flowing into her lungs. Her vision began to darken, her limbs going numb.

"Take her down to her mate. I'm sure that's what she came here for. I will not deny them the joy of their reunion." Lucia could hear the laughter in Stanton's voice, but it was as though it was coming to her through a long tunnel.

"Hmmm, she is a resilient little thing, though. She should have been out by now. Ah, well, all the better really. She will make for very interesting study. Go ahead and incapacitate her, Jon. I don't want her causing any trouble on the way down."

Her vision completely obscured by the black spots dancing before her, Lucia didn't even see the hilt of the dagger that smashed into her temple at a speed that would have killed her had she not been immortal. As it was, she felt a starburst of pain and red filled her vision before the blackness took her completely.


	2. Chapter 2

**I still own nothing! This all belongs to Kresley Cole!**

**Stanton and the blonde sorceri male (name forthcoming) are my own creations.**

**SPOILER ALERT! If you have not read Pleasures of a Dark Prince, DO NOT read this chapter! The entire cave scene is taken entirely (although not word for word) from the climax of that book!**

**Thank you for reading and please R&R!**

Gareth couldn't bite back the growl that escaped his lips. He could smell his female. Again. Although his rational mind knew that there was a sorceri nearby capable of creating illusions specifically designed to madden him, he could not help his visceral reaction to the idea of Lucia in danger.

_This must be another ruse meant to exploit my one weakness: Lucia. _They had already used such trickery to their advantage in order to capture him in the first place.

He, Bowen, and Uilliem had been out for a hard night of drinking in the Quarter. They had been stumbling home when they were suddenly surrounded by attacking Horde vampires. Despite their enemies' ability to trace, the Lykae were hardly outmatched given their incredible strength. Gareth had managed to decapitate two of them when he heard Lucia's scream echoing down a side alley.

Battle-maddened and roaring in fury, Gareth had split off from his friends to pursue his mate. When he reached the mouth of the alley, he picked up Lucia's unique scent tinged with a coppery aftertaste. Blood.

Although he could not see his mate, Gareth gave himself over to the beast inside of him and charged down the alleyway. At the end of it, he found nothing but a silver dart which pricked his neck and took him down within seconds. Lucia had never been there at all. Gods, how he hated sorcery!

When he had awoken, he was in this dimly lit cell. The entire room seemed to be built of concrete save for one wall which appeared to be a mirror. Gareth could have easily shattered either material and escaped if it weren't for the fact that he was trapped in a six-foot square ruddy _tiny_ iron cage in the center of the room. He had tried and tried to pry apart the bars, searching for weaknesses in his confines, but they had clearly been reinforced with spells so that they could withstand even his immense strength.

It didn't take him long to piece together why he was being held there. His captors were rather chatty on the subject. The gloating assholes.

He knew that he was being imprisoned by some sort of mortal organization bent on eradicating the immortals from the earth. He had been informed of this by an oily, grinning mortal named Stanton who was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet in glee over his capture.

While the mortals would stand no chance against the Loreans on their own, they had unfortunately found all too willing allies in some of the more sadistic immortals. Gareth knew that they at least had socerii and Horde vampires among their ranks. He was sure that these allies would become enemies as soon as their common goals had been accomplished, but he could only assume that each faction was confident that they would come out the victor in the long run. Why else take such a risk?

At first, Gareth had been puzzled as to why they did not kill him straightaway. He assumed that they had captured him because he was the Lykae prince, and disposing of him would weaken his brother's crown.

But he was not to be so fortunate. Apparently, he was the first Lykae this organization was able to capture, and they were very keen to figure out what the greatest weaknesses were in the species. They wished to _experiment_ on Gareth in order to devise ways to more successfully eradicate the Lykae.

After his initial fury at himself for being captured had faded, Gareth became determined not to show signs of weakness. He would not assist them in destroying his people. He was their prince; it was his duty to protect them.

The first few days had been rather predictable. Well, physical torture was a bit out of the ordinary in Gareth's day-to-day schedule, but it wasn't something he hadn't faced before. When they had burned the skin from his body, it had been painful, but he did not cry out.

Because Gareth knew true pain, and it did not come from any physical wound. He still had difficulty recalling the dark time when he thought he had killed Lucia when under Cruach's sick spell. The perceived loss was agonizing. It was a miracle she had been able to bring him back from the brink before he destroyed himself just to end the pain.

It was on the fourth day that Gareth had met one of the more disturbing immortals who allied himself with this organization. The blonde male sorceri was comely enough, but his flat, black eyes revealed his true nature: cold, unmerciful. The sick fuck clearly lived to cause pain.

As soon as Gareth met those obsidian eyes with his own, he found he could not look away. He felt as if someone was combing through his mind, rummaging about in his memories. The sensation was disconcerting and not at all comfortable, but it did not cause Gareth any real pain.

But then he felt a tugging sensation in his mind, as though a thread were pulling a memory forward into the forefront of his consciousness. And then it became real all over again.

Gareth was back in Cruach's cave, his mind no longer his own. He saw himself shackle Lucia to a stone altar as she beseeched him to kill her, to end her pain. He was filled with such love. He had to do it; he had to make her happy.

He swung the sword downward in a powerful arc, cleanly separating her head from her shoulders. And, in an instant, she was gone. Gareth looked in horror at what he had done.

He had killed her. He had murdered Lucia, his mate. She had warned him that he would turn against her if he did not leave. Why had he not listened? She was dead! Dead by his own hand!

He clutched the lifeless shell that had once been Lucia to him, rocking back and forth over her on the cave floor. His mind could not handle this. Could not comprehend. His thoughts became more disjointed, petering out into a mental silence until suddenly only one thought filled his mind.

_Lucia is gone._

Gareth roared in anguish and his beast burst forth from him. He ran from the cave and what he had done, roaming the woods like a rabid animal, searching for some way to destroy himself.

Standing in the cell before the sorceri male, Gareth roared out his agony as his beast flickered over him. He clawed at his chest, attempting to tear out his twisting heart. He was fully immersed in his most painful memory, and the enchanter was drinking it in.

But the beast in him slowly recognized the ruse. That wild part of Gareth remembered that Lucia was alive. Just as the beast in him had stopped Gareth from murdering Lucia on that day, it now saved him from himself.

The Instinct whispered at Gareth, calling him back to reality. _This is a lie. Lucia is alive._

Gareth took deep breaths and closed his eyes, reigning in the beast and returning to his normal form. He forced himself away from the memories of the cave, looking to the more recent past and the life that he and Lucia had built together.

_She is alive._

Gareth opened his eyes and glared challengingly at the blonde sorceri. His cold black eyes were momentarily filled with shock, which was rapidly replaced by anger, which in turn just as quickly gave way to a calculating stare.

After a moment of silence, the male turned on his heel and left the room without uttering a word. Despite the seeming reprieve, Gareth knew nothing good could come of this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the shorter chapter! I promise I'll give a lengthier update soon!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited this story! Your feedback is appreciated! Keep the reviews coming!**

**Also, if you're interested, I updated the first chapter (on 18 Oct 2010) with some character quotes at the beginning. I thought I might add a little levity before diving into this dramatic fic!**

**I still own nothing! Lucia and Gareth belong to Kresley Cole!**

Three days had passed. Gareth had not seen or heard from any of his tormentors in that time. If anything, the silence would madden him faster than any of the physical tortures they had devised in the first few days of his imprisonment.

He found himself with nothing but time. Time to think. Time to worry. Why had the blonde sorceri seemingly given up on him so quickly? Gareth had the feeling that the male's particular brand of sadistic magic was not often thwarted. Perhaps it never had been. Gareth feared how much of his memories the bastard had been able to see. If he knew the contents of the memory with which he had attempted to torture Gareth, then he would surely realize the depth of his feelings for Lucia.

He was slowly becoming consumed with worry for his mate and rage at his inability to ensure her continued safety. He had attacked the bars of his cage with such ferocity that the skin had torn from his hands.

But this was useless. Surely Lucia was safe. She would be with her coven of fierce sisters, no doubt plotting his rescue at this very moment. Lucia was sensible and clever; she would devise a plan to crack this mortal organization wide open.

Gareth reassured himself with this rationalization over and over again. Just now he had decided to sit quietly on the floor and focus on breathing deeply and evenly, controlling his rage and allowing his skin to regenerate. If the Valkyrie and Lykae did launch a rescue attempt, he would do all in his power to ensure that he was in peak fighting condition when they arrived. They might even be able to recruit help from the witches, seeing as Bowen's recent marriage to Mariketa the Awaited had resulted in an alliance between their species.

Gareth took a deep, calming breath, and drew in Lucia's scent.

No. It couldn't be her; she could not be here. But there was her unique scent, undeniable and unfading, tinged with the coppery smell of blood.

Gareth's claws began to lengthen, and he knew that his eyes must be flickering to pale blue.

He clenched his hands into fists, breaking the scabs that had formed on his knuckles. _She is not truly here. This is another sorcerii trick. Like the one used to trap me._

But then, he heard the first sounds he had heard in days: the opening and closing of a heavy metal door nearby; the rattling of chains.

And still, the scent of Lucia's blood burned his nostrils as he drew in each increasingly rapid breath.

Suddenly, the mirror which made up the fourth wall of the room in which Gareth was imprisoned turned to glass as though a switch had been thrown.

He could see that on the other side of the glass was a room identical to his own, only there was no cage in the center of it.

Lucia was naked, suspended a few inches from the floor, her wrists bound in heavy iron manacles which hung from chains embedded in the ceiling. Her eyes were closed, her head hanging limply. Dried blood ran down the right side of her beautiful face from a deep wound in her temple.

For a moment, Gareth drank in the sight of her in stunned silence.

Then, with a feral roar of rage and anguish, he surged to his feet and redoubled his efforts to rip the enchanted bars of his cage apart.

His Instinct was screaming at him: _Have to reach her. My female- hurt. Need to protect._

But he could not reach her; could not do anything. Oh, gods, how had they captured her? He could have withstood any torture they had devised, but he could not bear the thought of his Lucia in pain.

Letting his beast out of its cage, he threw back his head and roared, "LOUSHA!"

**WARNING! Things are about to get seriously f*cked up!**

**R&R please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the delay in posting a new chapter, but at least it's a long one!**

**I still own nothing! Everything belongs to Kresley Cole!**

**SPOILER ALERT! You really have to have read Pleasures of a Dark Prince before you read this chapter! Several scenes referenced throughout are taken from that book!**

**Thank you for your feedback so far! Keep it coming!**

Lucia was trapped in darkness. Her head was pounding painfully to the beat of her pulse. A roaring was filling her ears. Slowly, she began to become conscious of the rest of her body. Her shoulders and arms were stretched painfully above her. She tried to ease them down to her sides but found that something was holding them above her head.

The roaring in her ears was becoming louder, pressing insistently on her consciousness. As she concentrated on the sound, it began to form distinctive words. Or one word, rather: her name.

"LOUSHA!"

Gareth! Yes, she had been looking for Gareth! Was he here? He must be. But she could not see him through the oppressive darkness in which she seemed to be trapped. The pounding in her skull was making it difficult for her to formulate clear thoughts.

_Pull it together. Gareth needs you._

Lucia gritted her teeth and shoved back the throbbing in her head and her shoulder muscles. She had dealt with much worse before, after all; she had experience in compartmentalizing pain.

Once she had cleared her mind, she realized that she was creating the blackness around her. She forced her eyes open.

The first sight Lucia took in was Gareth. He was trapped in some sort of metal cage about ten feet in front of her. He was fully turned; his ice blue eyes seemed deranged. She sucked in a breath when she saw that his hands were torn and bloody, and some of his lethal claws had been ripped off.

"Gareth?" She whispered cautiously. "Gareth, it's okay. I'm here now."

He answered her soothing tone with an anguished roar. Lucia flinched, startled by his anger.

The tiny movement sent a fresh jolt of pain shooting down from her wrists to her back. Odd. Lucia again tried to shift her arms into a more comfortable position. She met resistance, and this time she perceived a metallic rattling noise that accompanied the motion.

Craning her neck upwards, she saw that her wrists were bound above her in iron shackles. The metal was already cutting into her delicate skin, leaving her wrists ringed in crimson. Well, now that she was conscious it should be easy enough to break the bonds with her Valkyrie strength.

Wrapping her hands around the chains that ran from her arms to the ceiling, Lucia gave a yank that would snap the metal.

But the chain remained resolutely intact, and all she accomplished was doubling the pain in her muscles as the weight of her body jerked down on her wrists. She struggled for purchase on the floor to relieve the ache, but her toes found nothing but air.

She looked back to Gareth, who seemed to have been incensed by her struggles and was tearing frantically at the bars of the cage that held him. But the metal securing him did not yield, either.

Lucia's mind began searching for a rational explanation. A rush of memories came to her: Gareth, missing; her allies stalling; her foolish one-Valkyrie assault on the mysterious coalition of humans and immortals; being trapped in Stanton's office; and the staggering burst of pain that exploded in her head as she fell into darkness.

_Shit. I've really fucked up this time. For the first time ever, level-headed Lucia has botched a mission._

A low, continuous growl issued from Gareth's throat as he continued his fruitless assault on the metal trapping him.

"Gareth," Lucia said calmly. "Gareth, you need to stop that; you're hurting yourself."

"Doona care," he ground out, his accent thick. "Have to get you out."

"Gareth," she repeated his name, attempting to calm the beast in him and reach the rational man. "You are not accomplishing anything. Stop, please. We need to talk about this calmly."

Gareth was silent for a moment, breathing heavily. With an obvious effort, he stopped ripping at the bars that separated him from Lucia. But he did not release them altogether, and his muscles quivered with the repressed urge to continue at his task. The shadow of his beast receded, but his eyes remained that unsettling shade of blue.

"Now," Lucia said authoritatively, "Do you know where we are?"

"No," Gareth bit out. "I was unconscious when they brought me here. I was fighting Horde vampires in the street when some bloody sorceri got me. They bewitched me and I don't remember anything until I woke up here about a week ago. Fucking magic. They've reinforced this metal with spells so that I canna break out."

His muscles bulged as he pulled at the bars, and the shadow of his beast flickered over him.

"Shhh, it's okay," Lucia attempted to soothe him. But these words seemed to only enrage him all the more, making him lose his tenuous control on his temper.

"IT IS BLOODY WELL NOT OKAY!" He bellowed. "Just me alone, I could have endured whatever torments they devised for me. But I canna stand it if they hurt you, Lousha. I won't let them. I WON'T FUCKING ALLOW IT!"

Lucia opened her mouth to attempt to calm him again, but was distracted by the sound of a heavy metal door opening to her left. She turned her head towards the sound and saw a handsome blond male entering the room.

He shut the door behind him, smiling as he surveyed Lucia. She suddenly became aware of the fact that she was naked, and she struggled not to squirm under his penetrating gaze.

He grinned at her, but there was no warmth in his expression.

"Just the sentiments I was hoping to hear," he breathed.

The blonde male approached her. She could hear Gareth shouting again, but could not seem to tear her eyes away from those of the handsome male. His irises were a cold, flat black, so dark that it was nearly impossible to pick out his pupils. By the time he was standing directly in front of her, she was completely lost in the darkness of his eyes.

Lucia drew in a shuddering breath just before the blackness engulfed her.

Slowly, images began flickering to life in the darkness, images that were familiar to her. And with the images came pain.

She ripped her hand down towards her chest, peeling the skin from her hand like a glove. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she grasped an ancient arrow from a quiver and drove it into the chest of the god leering over her.

Blackness.

Lucia aimed an arrow at a tree and loosed. Just as she let off her shot, her sister shoved her arm. Agony ripped through her, and she crumpled to the ground. She heard a distant roar as waves of unrelenting pain crashed over her. The Lykae was coming for her, running straight into their trap; she had done her duty for her coven.

Blackness.

A towering vampire demon was rampaging through her beloved home, accompanied by other Horde vampires. She shot three arrows at the brute's neck in order to sever his head from his body. Impossibly, he brushed two arrows aside and caught the third. Lucia barely had time to register shock before the same crippling pain washed over her. This was her curse from Skathi: that she must always suffer this agony when she missed a shot.

The vision was again replaced by darkness, only to resolve into an earlier memory of the same pain. The torment seemed to go on interminably as she relived each time her arrow had failed to reach its target.

Finally, a pause. She was suspended in a cold, black sea for a merciful moment. _Ahhh, yessss._ An unfamiliar voice whispered in her mind.

She lay shivering on an altar, her mortal body broken. Skathi stared down at her coldly as Lucia made the deal which would be both her gift and her curse for the next millennium. As the goddess accepted her oath of service and chastity, Lucia's seemingly unbearable pain increased tenfold. The healing of her body was agonizing beyond anything she had ever before experienced, even in Cruach's lair.

_Hmmm, interesting. What is this?_

And Lucia found herself lying on another altar, only this time her hands were chained above her head. She was a frightened young girl again, trapped in Cruach's putrid cave. _Why had she trusted him? _A strangled sob escaped her.

"Why do you cry? I gave you meat and wine, my love." Cruach was hovering over her as his lecherous priests looked on. Lucia struggled wildly against her bonds, but only succeeded in cutting her wrists raw. She screamed as his first thrust seemed to tear her open.

_No, no, no! Oh, gods, what have I done?_

She could feel blood, hot and thick, running down her thighs, but still her husband continued on. She screamed and sobbed until her throat was raw, yet Cruach seemed only to delight in her pain.

_Let me die. Please, let me die…_

Blackness, merciful blackness. _Please, gods, let me be dead._

"No, you're not dead. Open your eyes," the same soft, unfamiliar voice that had whispered in her mind was now at her ear.

Startled, Lucia complied. Her vision was filled with the face of the blonde immortal male. His cold eyes were closed, and his lips were curved into a satisfied smile. He breathed in deeply as though sampling an intoxicating aroma.

"I must say, you are… delectable," he breathed out the last word on a contented sigh. He opened his eyes, which glittered with the first emotion that Lucia had sensed in him. "I have always wanted a Valkyrie to play with, and you definitely do not disappoint. I have rarely had the pleasure of sampling the memories of someone who has suffered as intensely as you have."

"Who are you?" Lucia had intended to sound strong and fearless, but to her chagrin, her voice quavered.

The male grinned. "I am Sebastian of the Sorcerii, and, as you may have gathered, my power is fed through others' pain. I collect a victim's most agonizing memory, and then I am able to cause her measured amounts of pain at will."

To prove his point, he reached up and gently ran the backs of his fingers down Lucia's cheek. She shuddered and jerked away from him as a burning jolt emanated from his touch.

He laughed quietly. "We are going to have such fun. You see, I am rarely able to harvest two memories of equal magnitude from a source, but you, you are special." He smiled at her encouragingly as if he had just paid her a flattering compliment. "You have suffered great emotional as well as physical agony. It will be interesting to see what happens when I exploit both simultaneously. Even better, both of these memories are from your life before you attained immortality, so that makes my abilities much more acute in your case."

His pleasure was a palpable thing, pulsing in the air around her. "I also get the added bonus of your Lykae's misery. I couldn't get anything from him before; the beast within him was able to block me somehow. It seems quite fitting, really, that the one being who has ever withstood my gifts would be fated to love a female who was the most susceptible. Between the two of you, I'm sure I will be able to gain enough power to sustain myself through the Accession. My thanks to you for walking in here. We were hoping to capture you, but you really did make it almost too easy."

He grinned, and Lucia's stomach churned.

**Sooooo, what do you think? Please R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the delay in updating again! I can't seem to update as often as I would like. Grad school doesn't leave much time for fanfic writing!**

**But I really appreciate the reviews I have received so far! Keep 'em coming, please!**

**As always, I own nothing; Lucia and Garreth (unfortunately) belong to Kresley Cole! (Who wouldn't want to own themselves a yummy Lykae? And Garreth is the best one, I think. Not that I would hate hooking up with Lachlain or Bowen, though! Hmmm, I'm starting to sound as flighty as Nix… Oh, well. On with the story!)**

Lucia was speechless for a moment, shocked by the series of disturbing revelations that had just been made known to her through Sebastian's gloating speech. Because of her foolish decision to go blundering into this institution on her own, not only had she condemned herself to relive the agonies of her past, but she had only further endangered Garreth. He was right when he said that he could have endured any physical pain they had devised for him. Garreth was strong, resilient. So long as they did not kill him, he would have endured the pain they meted out until a proper force of Valkyrie and Lykae had been able to come to his rescue.

But now… Lucia had seen firsthand what happened to Garreth when she was in jeopardy. His beast took over and he became feral, wild. If he were forced to watch her suffering and was unable to come to her aid, he could be driven to madness, the beast consuming the man within.

Lucia would not allow that to happen. She had brought him back from the brink once; she was not about to let him reach that point ever again. Not while she still lived.

She glared at her tormenter, Sebastian, who was watching her shifting expressions intently. Well, if he was waiting for her to break down in tears and beg for mercy, he was about to be sorely disappointed.

"Okay, asshole, here's how this is going to go. You have fucked with the wrong Valkyrie. I didn't get to be nearly fifteen-hundred years old by rolling over whenever some evil bastard decided to give me trouble. I _ended_ him. And trust me, I _will_ end _you_ for fucking with my husband and me."

In a blindingly fast motion, Lucia gripped the thick chains above her head and pulled herself upwards. At the same time, she swung her legs back to build momentum before kicking out at the enchanter. Her bare feet connected solidly with his muscled chest, sending him flying back into the glass wall behind him. Lucia expected it to shatter on impact, but the wall remained intact. Although it was dismaying to learn that this was a further barrier between her and Garreth that must be magically enforced, Lucia could not deny the surge of satisfaction she felt when Sebastian's head hit the glass with a resounding _crack_.

He slid to the concrete floor, his eyes dazed and unfocused. Lucia smirked.

"Lousha! You should no have done that," Garreth protested.

Lucia cocked her head at him, puzzled. "You didn't think I was just going to let him hurt you and not do anything about it, did you? Now, while he's trying to regenerate the back of his skull, we should probably try to figure out a way out of here. Any ideas?"

"Lousha, there _is_ no way out. Not now, anyway. I canna get out of this bloody cage, and you canna get out of those chains. As soon as that bastard comes round he's sure to retaliate, and I canna bear to see him hurt you like that. What he did to you just now…" Garreth trailed off, his muscles flexing and his eyes turning blue.

"Garreth, it's okay. They're only memories; I've lived through them before and I'm fine. I am not just going to do nothing while this sick fuck plays his games. Would you have me simply give up and wait around for rescue? Because I don't do the whole damsel in distress thing well, you know. It's not a good look for me."

Garreth growled. "Of course I doona want you to give up. But it seems for now that there is no way out of here, and fighting back will only make things worse for you. Please, Lousha. Please just be cooperative so that they will no hurt you anymore. I ken you are strong, but please, do this for me."

"Garreth, I can't just-"

"It's too late for that, MacRieve." Lucia was cut off by Sebastian, who was picking himself slowly up off of the floor. He touched a tentative hand to the back of his head and winced. He drew it back and examined the dark blood coating his fingers with a scowl.

"I had intended to torture you until you were broken, your mind shattered beyond recall," he glared at Lucia and advanced towards her menacingly. "Then I was going to kill you and your mate when you had outlived your usefulness for our research. But now… Now I think I will keep you. You will not be granted the release of death. I will relish every second of your agony until your will is broken. Then you will serve me forever, wait on me at my leisure and see that my… appetites are fully satisfied." His furious grimace twisted into a leer. "And I do have rather sadistic appetites. I may even keep your Lykae around for a while to watch. If he is not maddened to the point of being rendered useless."

Although Lucia's stomach twisted at the prospect of his chilling words, she schooled her features into a hard mask.

"You have seen what I have lived through. If you only have the power to cause me the same pain I have experienced before, how do you expect to break me? I obviously survived and am just dandy now. So screw you and your nefarious plans; they won't work on me," Lucia spat at him.

Sebastian's grin widened. "Ah, but I haven't explained that part to you yet, now have I? I can _magnify_ the pain you have experienced. So, yes, I do believe the odds are in my favor."

The sorcerer was standing just out of her reach now, or she would have kicked in his smug face.

"Now, I am willing to admit that I did underestimate your strength. I will not make that mistake again."

He waved his hand almost lazily, and cold metal shackles appeared around Lucia's ankles. They were affixed to chains which were bolted into the floor.

_Shit_.

"Now," Sebastian smiled. "Let's get started, shall we?"

**So, that's all for now! This is taking a bit longer to build than I had initially anticipated, but I keep on thinking of more details as I'm writing! Also, I think I'm putting off making Lucia and Garreth go through what Sebastian has planned for them. I feel kind of bad about how messed up things are about to get!**

**But more to come on that soon! R&R, please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, it seems I'm more inclined to fanfic-ing this evening/morning than researching, so here's another chapter! Let me know what you think!**

**As always, Garreth and Lucia and the entire Lore world are the creations of Kresley Cole and do not belong to me.**

**R&R please!**

Sebastian approached her with a languid air, utterly confident in his power over her.

And damn it if the smug bastard wasn't right about that; he was going to hurt her and there was nothing Lucia could do about it. She had no option but to steel herself and try to withstand the pain that was coming. Not only did she not want to give that sick sorceri bastard the satisfaction of seeing her show weakness, but she had to stay strong for Garreth. If she could only conceal the pain, maybe he would be able to control the beast within him.

_Compartmentalize, Lucia. You've done it before, you can do it again._

Sebastian was before her now. Smiling at her genially, he extended a pale, long-fingered hand towards her neck.

Lucia took a deep breath and looked past him, locking eyes with Garreth. His irises were still that unnerving shade of ice blue, wild. He was gripping the bars before him so hard that his muscles were quivering with strain.

"I will be fine, my love. I promise," she attempted to soothe him.

Sebastian laughed quietly. "I think not."

He grasped her nape, and her world exploded in agony. It was the same pain she had felt that day when Skathi healed her: her bones were breaking and grinding together as they realigned themselves, and her flesh was seared as though by fire as the infection was burned out of the wounds covering her shattered body.

Through the blinding pain, she clung desperately to the knowledge that she had survived this before. She tried to focus on her surroundings, to distract herself from the agony ripping through her body, but her eyes seemed to be clouded over with a red haze that obscured her vision.

_I must not scream. I must stay strong. For Garreth._

"You are resilient not to scream, my pet, but I can sense the depth of your suffering," whispered a soft voice at her ear. "I control your pain, and I am rewarded when it feeds my strength. With as much power as I am absorbing from you now, I will relish testing your limits. Now, let's see if I can get a scream out of that pretty mouth of yours."

To Lucia's horror, she found her iron grip on her emotions slipping. Her determination to think only of Garreth and his need for her strength ebbed in the wake of a wave of regret, self-loathing, panic, and, above all, despair. The emotional turmoil was so keen, so vivid, Lucia could not even maintain the presence of mind to realize that Sebastian was using her memories of her rape by Cruach against her.

And all the while, the physical agony of Skathi's healing did not abate.

All earlier thoughts of resistance were washed away in the flood of pain and despair that consumed her. Lucia was so absorbed in her suffering that she did not even comprehend that the piercing, animal wail that echoed in her ears was issuing from her own throat.

She was lost.

Garreth was ripping at the bars of his cage again, tearing more skin from his palms. He slashed at the bars with his lengthened claws, so desperate to get to Lucia that he did not even notice when they snapped on impact with the unyielding metal.

Fully turned, his instinct was roaring in him so loudly that he could not formulate coherent thoughts.

_My mate, my Lousha, in pain. Need to protect. Canna stand to watch. Protect what's mine._

Then, Lucia let out a terrible wail of suffering like none Garreth had ever heard from her, not even when she had missed a shot while still under Skathi's curse.

Garreth was becoming maddened by his inability to act on his Instinct. His thoughts were not those of a man, but of a primal, trapped beast. An inhuman roar erupted from the core of his being as he continued to fruitlessly attack the cage that kept him from his mate.

The sound of his rage seemed to remind the sorcerer of his presence. The evil bastard turned towards him and inhaled deeply, never taking his hand from Lucia's neck.

"I must say, this is the most rewarding task I have ever been assigned. Once I am finished with the two of you, I could take on a god. But let's see what happens when I magnify her pain, shall we? I wonder just how far I can push her…"

He began to turn back towards Lucia. Grasping for the rational human within him, Garreth grated out, "STOP! Please, stop. Doona hurt her anymore. Do what you will to me, but leave her be."

"Reduced to begging already, MacRieve? That was much easier than I had anticipated. But no, your mate is far more intriguing than you were. And she will make for a much more enjoyable servant than you ever would, once she is broken to my will." A satisfied smirk spread across his face.

"YOU WILL NO TOUCH HER!" Garreth shouted, his fury breaking over him once again. "She is mine! MINE!"

Sebastian sighed. "I tire of you already, Lykae. Your shouting is drowning out the delicious screams of your mate. I simply will not have you deny me this pleasure."

With a casual flick of the sorcerer's fingers, Garreth was silenced abruptly. Although he opened his mouth to hurl insults at the enchanter, no sound issued forth. Without the sound of his anger to distract him, Lucia's relentless screams seemed to pierce through him; each one pained him like a dagger to the heart.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Sebastian focused his attention on Lucia once again.

At once, Garreth knew that the enchanter was making good on his promise to increase her pain. Lucia's wails of intense suffering continued on and on, and her body began to jerk and writhe as though she were struggling to escape unseen tormentors.

Abruptly, her screams were cut off. Lucia's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, but only wet, strangled sounds escaped her.

Her entire body went rigid and her head snapped back. Blood began to stream from her eyes, nose, and ears, and finally, it bubbled forth from her mouth, which was open in a silent scream.

Lucia's body convulsed one last time, and then she went limp. Her eyes were wide and staring blankly ahead. Blood continued to drip from her lips onto her naked chest, tracing sickening crimson rivulets down her perfect breasts.

The silence in the absence of her screams was deafening. There was something curious about it, unnatural.

Then Garreth realized why the silence seemed so strange. The sounds around which his life revolved were gone: the steady inhale and exhale of Lucia's breaths, the regular beating of her heart.

Oh, gods, her heart!

Not again! Garreth could not stand to lose her again! How would he survive without her?

His head wrenched back as he tried to vocalize his anguish, but the agonized roaring of the beast within him was silent. Unconsciously, he began tearing at his own chest with his ruined claws, desperately trying to rip out his own aching heart. It was not natural that it would continue beating while Lucia's remained silent in her chest.

**Whew, that was a doozie! Unfortunately, things don't look like they'll be getting better for Garreth and Lucia anytime soon…**

**Let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in so long! To be honest, I haven't been getting much feedback on this story, so I wasn't sure if I was going to continue with it. But I just kept on thinking about what was going to happen next, so I went ahead and wrote this out. I hope you like it! Please R&R! (Seriously! Otherwise I don't know if I should keep on with this fic!)**

**WARNING! There is graphic sex in this chapter, so if that bothers you, I suggest that you skip it! Although, the rest of this story is highly sexual in nature, so you should probably just give up now if that's not your thing…**

**As always, I do not own the Immortals After Dark series. That belongs to the fabulous Kresley Cole!**

The first thing Lucia became aware of was pain. Pain throughout her entire body, as though she had been pulverized by a speeding train and her body was just beginning to mend itself. Her skin felt raw and flayed, and her joints ached fiercely. Each breath she drew in burned as the cool air ripped its way down her throat. Through the haze of agony, she tried to recall what had happened to her. The first thing she remembered was the pain. Oh, Freya, the pain! She did not know how anyone could survive such agony. But then, she supposed she hadn't. She could tell by the painful twinge in her heart that pulsed with every beat that it must have been severely damaged. If she were not immortal, she would surely be dead right now. As it was, she must have been dead for at least a while before her body regenerated.

_Garreth. Where is Garreth?_

With great difficulty, she forced her eyes open. The light seemed to sear her eyes, and a small whimper escaped her as she quickly shut them again.

But the concern for Garreth was overwhelming. If he were anywhere near her, she would be able to hear him roaring in fury. Or at least trying to comfort her.

_Pull it together, Lucia._

She had to open her eyes. She had to know if Garreth was okay. Steeling herself, she opened her eyes once again, forcing them to stay open until she adjusted to the bright lights. Slowly, shapes began to resolve themselves out of the blaze of white that obscured her vision.

There. Garreth was still confined in the enchanted cage which kept him from her. Which meant that she was still shackled in the basement of the institute she had so foolishly tried to infiltrate.

_Shit._

But her initial feelings of relief at seeing Garreth alive quickly turned to dismay. She inhaled sharply in shock as she took in his condition, and immediately winced as flames seemed to lick their way down her throat along with the cool air.

Her mate was a bloody mess: his hands had been stripped of all their skin as though they had been flayed, and his claws were broken off at jagged angles. Lucia winced as she saw that there were chunks of flesh deeply embedded under those ruined claws; flesh that was evidently from his own chest. The perfect planes of his muscular chest were marred by deep, crimson gouges.

"Garreth?" His name escaped her dry, cracked lips in a barely audible croak.

His ice blue eyes met hers, and there was a startling wildness behind them. She could hardly sense any human reason left there. He stared into her eyes with fierce intensity for long moments. With what seemed to be a great deal of effort, he tore his gaze away from hers so that he could scrutinize the rest of her body. There was suddenly a perceptible change in his demeanor: his coiled muscles relaxed and all the breath went out of him in a rush as he realized that her heart was beating once again.

"Lousha." She could see his mouth form her name, but no sound issued forth.

"Garreth?" She ventured tentatively, her voice stronger this time. "Are you alright? How long have I been out?"

His mouth opened and closed, clearly trying to communicate with her. Frustrated, he bared his fangs in a growl, but still he remained silent.

Lucia felt rage filling her, washing away her weakness. "What have they done to you?" She asked, her voice hard.

"I silenced him. All of that incessant roaring was interfering with your delicious screams." With a great effort, Lucia turned her head to see Sebastian entering her cell. "I can still absorb his misery quite effectively without any distracting sound effects. I much prefer yours," he leered at her. "But don't worry, it's not irreversible. I may find that one day I want to hear him speak again. I might consider it when he is ready to beg me to kill you in order to release you from my bondage."

Repressing the urge to shudder, Lucia glared at him. "You already seem to have killed me once, and guess what? I came back. That's the thing about immortals you know: we tend to be very resilient. I can take whatever you dish out. No matter how many times you use your sick tricks against me, I will always come back fighting." She settled her gaze on Garreth, trying to get through to the human in him, to spark some hope in his despairing eyes. "Always."

"Hmmm. Well, luckily for me, I do have a contingency plan for just such an eventuality. It goes against my nature somewhat, but I think the end result will be well worth it. There are other ways to break someone that are not limited to the agonies of the flesh. Submission begins in the mind, and while I have harnessed your most painful emotional memory, I have not yet taken advantage of the opposite end of the spectrum."

For the first time, Lucia felt fear wash over her like a chill wind. He could do worse than what she had already been through? Oh, gods, please let him be boasting.

"What do you mean?" She forced herself to ask levelly.

Sebastian stepped towards her slowly, closing the distance between them until he was standing so close to her that she could feel his cool breath on her face.

"Let me show you," he whispered.

Lucia flinched as he touched a long finger to her face, brushing along the line of her cheekbone and tracing sensuously down to her jaw line, as a lover would. His black eyes locked with hers, and she felt herself falling into their depths once again.

Suddenly, she found herself consumed with lust and heat. She was clinging on to Garreth for support as he kissed her so thoroughly her knees went weak.

She moaned into his mouth and melted into him, reveling in his demanding kisses. He broke away from her, drawing in a ragged breath.

"Lousha," he said her name like a prayer. She shuddered as little currents of pleasure ran down her spine and all the way down to her toes, leaving her tingling and very aware of her aching need for him.

"Lousha, I have to have you. Now." The last word was a growl.

"Yes," her whispered consent became a gasp as he crushed his lips to hers once again and lifted her up off the floor. He swept her up into his arms, never taking his mouth from hers. Suddenly, they were on their enormous four-poster bed, Garreth hovering over her in all his naked glory.

Lucia let out a small moan of protest when he took his lips from hers. But he simply moved his talented mouth to her neck, nuzzling and nipping at her nape until she was shivering with need. She clutched his shoulders and pressed her sex up against his muscled thigh, desperately seeking release.

In a flash, he had her thighs pinned apart with his knees, and his large hands encircled her wrists, trapping them over her head.

"Not yet, Lousha. I want to savor this." Her groan of protest turned to a cry of pleasure as he nipped at the sensitive points of her ears. He released her wrists as he slowly worked his way down her body, trailing kisses over her neck and chest. She arched into him when his lips closed over one of her hard, aching nipples. He lavished them with attention until she was panting with need.

"Please, Garreth!" She begged.

His chest rumbled with quiet laughter, and he continued his torturously slow trail of kisses down her stomach. He paused when he reached the line of her soft curls. Lucia was so still that she did not even draw breath.

Then all the air left her chest on a cry of pure bliss as Garreth's warm mouth suddenly latched on to her throbbing clit. He stroked her to a frenzy with his clever tongue until she thought she might explode from the pressure building within her.

"Garreth!" She cried. "Please, I need you inside me!"

He was on top of her in a flash, and his groan mingled with her cry of pleasure as he entered her slick flesh. Her claws dug into his back as her orgasm ripped through her with his first thrust. But he continued his steady, assured strokes until she could feel another building inside of her. He changed the tempo of his thrusts, and Lucia could tell that he was close to finishing. Pulling him down to her for a searing kiss, they came together. She could feel his hot seed pumping into her as her sheath clenched greedily around his cock. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her entire body went limp, sated and completely blissed out.

She breathed in deeply and opened her eyes, looking for her lover's lips once again. Only her vision was filled with the leering face of Sebastian.

She gasped and jerked back from him in shock, but the shackles restraining her wrists and ankles kept her from scrambling away from him.

Sebastian traced a lazy hand down the side of her neck and onto her chest, trailing his fingers around her left breast. He lightly stroked her still-hard nipple.

"I know you enjoyed it," he smiled.

"No," she whispered weakly. What had she done? What had she allowed Sebastian to do to her? How could she betray Garreth by enjoying another man's touch like that?

"Don't lie to me," he chided her. "I could feel your emotions. Although I cannot take strength from your pleasure, your resulting shame and self-loathing will provide a veritable feast."

He removed his hand from her breast and touched her between her thighs, gathering up some of the wetness from her damp folds.

"Besides, the evidence of your pleasure is right here for everyone to see. And I know your Lykae can smell it. I can sense his rage."

He parted his lips and slowly sucked her juices from his index finger. "Delicious." He smiled at her.

Lucia's stomach roiled and she retched. It had been terrible when Cruach raped her. But at least she had still been herself; she could still hate Cruach for what he was doing to her and feel the pain of his violation of her body. But this… How could she live with herself after this? A man other than Garreth had touched her, and she had _enjoyed_ it. Lucia had never felt dirtier in her entire life.

Sebastian's cool fingers gripped her chin with bruising force, tilting her face up so that she would meet his cold, obsidian gaze.

"Next time," he said sternly, "I will expect you to be calling _my_ name, not his. Your body is mine now, and I do expect you to acknowledge me as its master."

**Sooooo… That's it for now! I know that was intense, but this story will only get more messed up. There will be non-con in the next chapter.**

**PLEASE R&R! I really do appreciate feedback!**


	8. Chapter 8

*****WARNING*** This chapter contains non-con and some very disturbing scenes. If that's not your thing, you should probably just stop now. This is a VERY dark chapter, and I don't really know if maybe I have taken things too far. I would appreciate some feedback, but try not to be too harsh please. I feel messed up enough that this came from my imagination, but it's been on my mind so I just had to write it out. So please, let me know what you think!**

**General disclaimer: I own nothing; Kresley Cole owns the IAD series. (And would probably never put Garreth and Lucia through anything this terrible…)**

Lucia's head was spinning. No. _No_. This was not happening. This _could_ not happen! She would never submit to this black-eyed devil! Willing herself to get a grip on her panicky thoughts, Lucia drew a deep breath in through her nostrils and did her best to arrange her features into a disdainful sneer.

"I will never submit to you. _Never_," she spat at him.

Sebastian chuckled softly. "But that's where you're wrong. I don't think you fully understand the power that pleasure holds over the mind and body. And when it is mixed with pain…" Sebastian closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. A maniacal grin spread over his face, twisting his handsome features into something terrible and ugly. After a moment's pause, his eyes snapped open, but the sick smile remained fixed on his face. "The mind cannot function properly when confronted with these diametrically opposed sensations simultaneously. Even an immortal as strong as yourself will shatter under the pressure. You will do anything to escape it. Anything. But I will not relent until your mind and body are _mine_. And you will surrender them to me, make no mistake about that."

"_Never,_" Lucia hissed. But she was barely able to suppress the urge to tremble in fear. No. He was bluffing. She would be different. He had never tried to break a Valkyrie before; he had admitted as much himself. He would be sorely disappointed. He would-

But Lucia's train of thought was abruptly cut off as Sebastian stroked the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder. As soon as his flesh made contact with hers, lust overwhelmed her. Heat seemed to shoot down her body in a direct line from where his fingers touched her shoulder to her sex. She knew that he was using the pleasurable sensations from her memory of being with Garreth just as he had used her memories of pain against her. She would use this knowledge, this awareness of the source of the pleasure, to deny it.

No. She would not enjoy this. She would simply deny the sensations coursing through her body. She thought of the most horrific things she could imagine: her sisters dying in battle long years ago; Garreth, driven mad by the thought that he had killed her; Cruach's decaying flesh and his putrid lair.

"Ah, ah, ah," Sebastian chided. "I don't think so."

He lowered his hand to her right breast, tracing his fingers around it in a spiraling pattern until he was gently circling her hardened nipple. Lucia found that she could no longer focus her thoughts. The disgusting images which she was so desperately clinging to began slipping from her mind like water out of cupped hands. All she could think of now was her overwhelming physical _need_ for sexual release.

A sensual moan nearly escaped her, and she bit her lip so hard to keep it in that she tasted blood.

"Fighting it is futile. You will submit."

Lucia had a fleeting moment to realize that Sebastian had merely been toying with her allowing her this much resistance before he lowered his gentle fingers to her clit. Intense pleasure washed over her, and her eyes rolled back in her head in bliss. She was far removed from the cell now; she was floating in a hazy world where only divine pleasure existed.

"Garreth!" She cried out his name, aching for him to fill her.

"No!" A harsh, commanding voice penetrated her bliss-filled haze. "You will never speak his name again! I, Sebastian, am giving you this pleasure. You will call out _my_ name if you want the release you seek."

No. This wasn't right. Feeling as though she were struggling through knee-deep waters, Lucia forced her way back to reality. She tried her best to compartmentalize the pleasure as she had once compartmentalized pain, and she forced her eyes open. Her stomach dropped as she saw that it was Sebastian touching her so intimately. She pulled wildly at her chains, struggling to separate herself from him and the undeniable pleasure that emanated from his touch.

"Get away from me!" But her demand was shaky, and lacked conviction.

Sebastian's amused expression turned hard.

"You _will_ call my name!"

He grasped the nape of her neck roughly with his left hand, leaving his right to continue playing among her soft folds.

And Lucia was again lost in a hazy world, only this time there was pain coupled with the pleasure. The heat of her lust seemed to literally be burning the skin from her body. She let out a terrible scream as the two sensations, sweetest pleasure and agonizing pain, intertwined with one another so that she could no longer distinguish the two. She was losing all sense of reality, all sense of herself.

_Garreth_. She clung to his name like a beacon. _I need Garreth_.

"GARRETH!" She screamed his name, desperate for him to be by her side, to bring her back to herself. "Garreth, help me! PLEASE!"

"NO!" The harsh voice was back at her ear. "Never speak his name again!"

And, impossibly, the sensations heightened. The building pressure within her from the pleasure that was wracking her body became so intense that she was sure it would make her explode if she did not find release soon. But at the same time, the fire that was charring her skin became an inferno, consuming her flesh and cracking her bones.

It was too much. It had to stop. How could she make it stop?

"You know what will make it stop," the voice whispered. "Say my name."

"Se-Sebastian," she stammered out in a broken whisper.

"Louder. Call out the name of your master." The conflicting sensations wreaking havoc on her body and mind spiked. She had to make it stop!

"SEBASTIAN!" She wailed.

Suddenly, mercifully, the pain abated. But the pleasure continued. She clung to it instinctively, riding out the last moments of blissful ignorance of her surroundings. She moaned as she felt someone thrust into her. Finally, _finally_, the pressure within her was going to be released.

"Come for me," the voice commanded.

The sound of Lucia's pleasure rang throughout the cell as her orgasm ripped through her, almost painful in its intensity. She kept her eyes closed and rode out the little aftershocks that ran through her, causing her to shiver.

"Look at me."

Without thinking, Lucia complied. When she opened her eyes, her heart dropped into her stomach as she took in what was happening. Sebastian was thrusting into her, his maniacal grin still firmly plastered across his face. But his eyes remained flat and lifeless as ever.

The pleasure which had numbed her to the reality of what was happening was gone, and horror filled the void that its absence had left in her mind.

Shuddering, she tore her eyes away from Sebastian's, wanting to look anywhere but at him as he took his pleasure from her. But what filled her vision when she looked over his shoulder was far worse.

Garreth laid by the bars of his cage in a pool of his own blood. His chest had been completely shredded by his claws, but even worse to behold was his face. He had destroyed himself. Deep gouges ran down his cheeks, and his ears were so torn it looked as though he had tried to rip them from his head. The worst was his eyes. Where his beautiful eyes used to be, there were only empty, bloody sockets.

Lucia let out a wail of despair as a wave of self-loathing washed over her. How could she have driven him to this? Why had she not tried harder to resist Sebastian? She was sure she could have done something more. She _had _to have been able to do something more.

Sobs wracked her body, but still Sebastian thrust into her relentlessly. If anything, her tears seemed to heighten his pleasure and bring about his release. With a satisfied grunt, he emptied his seed into her. The searing heat of it was like a shameful brand.

She felt him slide out of her, but her surroundings were completely obscured by her tears. Suddenly, she felt herself released from her shackles, and her body crumpled to the concrete floor. She was so overwhelmed by everything that had happened that she could not summon up the will to lift herself up and fight the bastard who had done this. She shuddered as she heard his satisfied voice drifting down to her where she lay.

"It is nice to finally see you at my feet where you belong. You had better get comfortable there; it will be your place from now on."


	9. Chapter 9

**Right, so this is a longer chapter, and it has a lot more exposition. It's not nearly as intense as the last one, I promise! I thought Lucia and Garreth deserved a bit of a break after that one…**

**I want to take a moment to thank everyone so much who has reviewed this story, especially Xzylya, what Katy's doing now, and cocopucks, whose positive comments on my last couple of chapters helped encourage me to keep writing! So thank you!**

**As always, I own nothing. Kresley Cole is the brilliant author of IAD!**

Lucia had no idea how long she had lain on the cold, hard floor of her cell, staring at Garreth's ruined face. She knew that, given a few days, he would heal. At least, his flesh would heal, but what about his heart and mind? Would he still be Garreth when he regained consciousness? Or would he be completely consumed by the beast within him? Could he ever forgive her for what she had done?

After an indeterminable amount of time, Lucia came to a resolution: she was not going down without a fight. She had come here to free Garreth, not drive him to madness, and she would be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to accomplish her goal. The wild part of herself that she had once thought of as the "darkness" within her was screaming at her to fling herself at the glass separating her from Garreth until she smashed it. But no. That sort of irrational behavior was what had gotten her into this quandary into the first place. She had to think; she wasn't known as level-headed Lucia for nothing.

She went through a mental checklist of the known obstacles blocking her from breaking Garreth out: impenetrable glass separating them; magically reinforced bars on the cage that held Garreth; ignorance regarding the layout of the lower levels of the building where they were being held. Up until this point, she had been held more or less immobile by the chains that had suspended her from the ceiling. But the foolish sorceri had underestimated her ability to bounce back and had released her from her shackles. Now, what new avenues were open to her for escape?

Firstly and most obviously, there was the metal door. Lucia was sure it would be locked, but she might be able to break it down. She tried the handle first, but she knew it wouldn't be that easy; the handle didn't turn so much as a millimeter. Right. Lucia studied the door for a moment, running her fingers along all the edges. Unfortunately, it was so well-fitted to the frame that she couldn't even slip her claws through the gaps to try to pry it open. The hinges must have been on the outside, so there was no chance that she could simply remove them and swing the door open.

This left her with one option: kick the door down. She hadn't wanted to make as much noise as she was sure she would, but she didn't seem to have another option. She backed up all the way to the far wall of her cell, still facing the door. Lucia drew in a deep breath and then launched herself into a run, gaining as much momentum as possible so that when she swung her legs forward at the last second they would make the impact with the maximum force possible.

But all of the force with which she hit the door simply reverberated back up her body. She had to bite back a scream as she felt several small bones in her feet splinter and one of her femurs fractured with the impact. She lay still for a moment, absorbing the pain and compartmentalizing it as she glared at the unyielding metal; there wasn't so much as a dent in the steel.

_Fucking magic._

Lucia regarded the concrete that made up the walls of the rest of her cell. With a lot of determination and many broken nails, she would be able to claw her way through the material, but with no idea of the layout of the building, she could find herself digging her way through ten feet of concrete without breaking through to the outside. She was not about to waste time and strength destroying every inch of the cell. Well, not just yet anyway. It might come down to that, but her best option now was to rest and allow her body to heal. Then she would have the best chance of catching Sebastian unawares the next time he opened the door to her cell.

Having resolved on a plan of action, Lucia settled herself against the wall just beside the door and closed her eyes. She had thought it would be difficult to sleep with all of the worries weighing on her mind, but her exhaustion dragged her under in minutes.

Lucia awoke to a muffled, metallic rattling sound.

_Keys._

Sure enough, she could hear voices just outside her door. In a flash, Lucia was on her feet, ready to spring at the first person who entered. She had less than a moment to register pleasure at seeing Sebastian and knowing that he would be the first to die by her hands. He had hardly taken one step across the entranceway when Lucia's sharpened claws tore into either side of his neck. In almost the same motion, she ripped her claws forward, attempting to partially sever his head from his neck. She could finish the job after she dealt with the others who had accompanied him.

But Sebastian's high-pitched scream mingled with her own as he unconsciously unleashed his magic on her in full force in an act of self-preservation.

The world around Lucia disappeared as she was once again wrapped in a haze of agony and ecstasy. She could feel someone yanking at her arms, pulling her fingers away from the hot blood of Sebastian's torn neck.

As soon as her flesh was no longer in contact with the sorcerer's, the incapacitating feelings abated, but Lucia was still weakened and disoriented by the blast of intense sensations that had just wracked her body.

By the time the world stopped spinning, Lucia could feel herself being hoisted up as the cold shackles once again encircled her wrists and ankles.

_Shit._

She blinked rapidly, clearing the last of the fog from her vision. Garreth still appeared to be unconscious in his cell, thank the gods; at least he had not witnessed that travesty of an escape attempt.

_I should have _known_ not to go for Sebastian_, Lucia berated herself. Wait, _Sebastian._

Lucia whipped her head around to see if she had managed to rip the bastard's head off by some miracle of a chance. But she was not to be so lucky. He was lying on the concrete floor as his blood pooled around his blonde head. Lucia was pleased to see that he at least looked pained as he gasped and sputtered on the floor; she had managed to rip some pretty impressively gaping holes in either side of his neck. That had to hurt.

Then she recognized the other two men who were standing over Sebastian, looking down at him dispassionately: Edward Stanton, the mortal in charge of this operation, and the massive immortal who had knocked her out when she first entered Stanton's office. Jon, she thought his name was. She could see now that he was one of those beings which Nix referred to as a "vemon," but which Regin preffered to call a "dempire." In any event, it was one of the imposing vampire-demons, once considered mere myths, but who had recently proven to be an unfortunate reality. They were in real trouble if there was a force of dempires (Lucia had to side with Rege on this one) working with these mortals.

"Jon!" Stanton barked at the dempire. "Go fetch a healer."

_Damn it!_ All that trouble Lucia had gone to to bloody the bastard and he was going to be healed in a matter of minutes. And he was sure to be pissed when he was recovered. This was not going well at all.

Lucia considered taunting Sebastian for his pathetic moaning, but she figured that gloating, "So you can dish it out but you can't take it" would not be conducive to improving the situation.

In far too short a time for her taste, the hulking dempire had returned with a tall, impossibly slim woman in tow. Silently, she swooped down on Sebastian, her skirts hiding the sorcerer from Lucia's view. Lucia could barely make out a soft glow of golden light that hung around the woman like a halo for a brief moment.

_Someone who works on the side of evil shouldn't be able to look so angelic_, Lucia thought fleetingly.

Her work apparently done, the woman stood up and swept out of the room, never having said a word. The dempire helped pull Sebastian to his feet. He swayed for a moment, obviously disoriented, but Lucia could see that the skin on his neck was whole and healed. Suddenly, his eyes focused on her.

"You BITCH!" He snarled at Lucia and started towards her. But a glance from Stanton had Jon restraining Sebastian from retaliating.

"Sebastian!" Stanton said sharply. "You lied to me; you have failed in your task. While the Lykae does seem to have been destroyed, the Valkyrie seems relatively unharmed. You claimed she was broken. Explain yourself!"

Sebastian paled. Odd. What power could this mortal possibly have over a sorcerer and a dempire? Who was backing him to give him such authority? But these were questions to tuck away for later thought; the best course of action now was to listen and try to glean as much information about this organization as she could.

"She was! I- I thought she was. She seemed utterly destroyed when I last left her! I swear it."

Stanton considered him for a moment. "Very well. It seems you have failed. We will continue to run tests on the Valkyrie, but the Lykae is useless to us now. Jon, if you would take care of that please."

"NO!" Lucia shrieked, finally breaking her silence. "Don't you dare touch him, you son of a bitch! If you harm him, I will _end_ you. I vow it on the Lore."

To Lucia's surprise, it was Sebastian who stepped in on Garreth's behalf.

"Director," he said smoothly, clearly attempting to be persuasive. "I know he is of little use to the organization any longer, but once he regains consciousness his distress over the continued tormenting of his mate would prove beneficial to building my power. The stronger I am, the more I can contribute to our cause."

Stanton considered him for a moment, clearly debating whether feeding Sebastian's power was a wise idea. Lucia held her breath, praying that he decided to grant the sorcerer's request. She did not want to see Garreth suffer any more, but Garreth in pain was better than Garreth dead. He couldn't come back from dead. There was still a chance that they might yet escape, or be rescued.

After a long moment, Stanton sighed. "Very well. Keep your playthings. But your methods with the Valkyrie are clearly not working. I wonder if you might try out one of your new experimental control devices on her? We need to develop a means of easily keeping the immortals we capture in line. We have been working on a sort of collar which inhibits their powers, but those are not yet ready. But I believe you mentioned some technology that you acquired from another sorcerer? The recently deceased Groot the Metallurgist?"

Sebastian locked eyes with Lucia, and a twisted smile spread across his face. "Yes, I have been wanting to try those out. This will be the perfect opportunity to test their power. I have recently forged one myself and have been hoping to find a worthy subject on whom to test its efficacy."

"Alright then that's settled," Stanton said, dusting his hands together, satisfied that this matter of business had been dealt with. Lucia felt as though she was being equated with having completed the task of taking out the garbage.

"Ah, Director, I will have to move her for the procedure. Perhaps it is best if Jon assists me with the process?"

Well, at least he had learned his lesson not to underestimate her. But she supposed that wasn't really such a good thing after all. The hulking dempire would definitely not be easy to take down, especially if she didn't have any weapons.

Stanton noticed her eyeing the dempire, assessing him for weaknesses. Damn, he was fairly perceptive, for a mortal.

"I'm not taking any chances with this one. If she's to be moved, then she's going to be sedated. _And_ you can keep Jon with you."

Well, Lucia supposed she should be flattered that she was considered so dangerous, but this really was putting a damper on her escape plans. Stanton approached her, pulling a huge syringe out of his coat pocket. Alright, maybe it was time to resort to some taunting.

"Wow. I'm impressed. This organization must be pret-ty badass if you can't even contain one woman without resorting to drugging her. No, wait. It's fairly pathetic, actually."

Stanton just smiled at her blandly as he drove the needle into her neck with considerable force. Lucia could feel the warm liquid of the drug spreading rapidly through her veins with every beat of her heart. She found herself enthralled by it: the steady, rhythmic beating. She felt a bizarre urge to count the beats. One… two…. three….

In moments, Lucia's body went limp and her eyes fluttered shut.

**So, that was a bit of a breather for Lucia, and Garreth is still completely out of it, so I suppose he also got a reprieve, in his own way.**

**I'm sure any of you who have read **_**Dark Desires After Dusk**_** (Cadeon and Holly's story) can guess what's coming next. It's not going to be pretty…**

***Side note* This may sound utterly ridiculous, but I've just realized that I gave my chief villain the same name as one of the Wroth brothers. That wasn't intentional! I have nothing against vampires. Well, not forebearers, at least…**

**R&R, please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So here is my new chapter! ***Spoiler alert!*** This chapter briefly references a plot point at the end of Holly and Cade's story, so if you haven't read it, you might want to skip this chapter!**

**Also, based on a couple of comments, it seems I was not clear enough about **_**why **_**Lucia reacted to Sebastian's touch the way she did in Chapter 8. She was not simply enjoying herself because Sebastian is a master at seduction; he was using his power to manipulate physical sensations he accesses through his victim's memories to force her to feel pleasure. He truly is twisted. So I added a few sentences to Chapter 8 that made this more clear. Feel free to check it out if you want! But honestly it's only about two sentences that I added, so reading this may suffice if you don't want to re-read.**

**As always, the IAD series belongs to Kresley Cole, not me!**

**R&R please! I really appreciate the reviews! They are very encouraging ****!**

Lucia awoke for the first time in days without pain. Her entire body felt light, as though she were floating. She opened her eyes, half expecting to find herself hovering in midair. But no, she was lying on a long, thin sort of table with a cushioned top. After days of being suspended from the ceiling by her wrists, it felt more plush than the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in.

But this feeling of comfort faded when she realized metal cuffs restrained her wrists, ankles, and neck to the table upon which she lay. She was still being held prisoner, was still in the same godforsaken cell that had become her home over the last few days. She glanced around at her surroundings to confirm it: yes, there were the same dull grey concrete walls, the steel door, and the shackles hanging from the ceiling. They had sedated her to move her a few fucking feet? She supposed she should feel flattered, but all she felt was disappointment that she had missed a chance at fighting her way free. Or at least bloodying Sebastian again.

But if she was still here, Garreth must be too. Fearing what she might see, she hesitantly turned her head to the right to see through the glass wall of her prison.

He was conscious again. He had assumed his former position at the bars facing her cell, gripping them tightly. Lucia had to fight back tears as she took in his appearance. The claw marks on his chest were scabbed over, but were still a long way from healing completely. The skin on his ears had regenerated, but they still appeared tattered around the edges. His eyes were closed, still in the process of regenerating behind his healed eyelids. She knew if they were open they would be a bright, unnatural blue. His beast was fully out of its cage.

"Garreth?" She called to him tentatively and he jerked his head up. He regarded her in silence, and she knew he must still lack the ability to speak.

"Garreth," she plowed ahead. "I need you to do something for me." She paused, considering how best to convince him not to hurt himself anymore. She wasn't sure if he was capable of controlling it in his beast form, but she needed to at least try.

"If I ask you to do something, do you promise to do it?"

He cocked his head to the side, clearly hesitant to make a promise when he didn't know what he would be pledging to do.

"_Please_, Garreth. For me."

Slowly and reluctantly, he nodded his head in assent.

"Whatever happens to me now, whatever you hear or see, I want you to promise me to take no action that will result in harm being done to yourself. I need you to heal. I need you to be whole."

He bared his teeth in a silent growl, clearly angry at his consent to her request for him to promise before he knew what she would ask.

"You promised to do what I asked. Tell me you will honor your agreement."

Again, he nodded, his face twisted in an expression of anguish.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Just then, the steel door to her cell opened, and Sebastian stepped into the room, Jon's enormous frame hulking behind him.

"Lucia!" Sebastian grinned at her. "I'm so glad you are awake. Just in time, too."

He approached her at a leisurely pace, stopping when he reached the head of the table. His face loomed over her, his black eyes boring into her own.

"Soon such restraints will not be necessary, my pet; you will no longer be a threat to me."

"I will _always_ be a threat to you, for as long as I live," she snarled back at him.

He just smiled at her genially. "Jon," he held out his open hand towards the dempire, gesturing imperiously.

The enormous immortal handed over a metal stake that gleamed dully in the muted light that filled the cell. It was about five or six inches long, maybe two and a half inches in diameter at its thickest point. It looked wickedly sharp.

"This," Sebastian said the word lovingly, caressing the length of the stake as he spoke, "is a most valuable tool found in the ruins of the recently destroyed fortress belonging to a sorcerer named Groot. He was quite a brilliant metallurgist, and he had a vast army of slaves that tended to his every whim. One man was able to control many with the implementation of this device. It gives the sorcerer absolute power over one's body. You will be the first I have had the pleasure to test it on."

"Well, now I'm scared," Lucia said scathingly, trying to mask her fear. "All of your tried and true methods at breaking me have worked so well thus far. I'm sure that a magic you are unfamiliar with will work out for you just great." But as she delivered her sarcastic remarks, she was silently praying in her head that he was incapable of wielding the magic properly. She had heard something of Holly's experiences in Groot's fortress when he had intended to forcibly impregnate her with a child who would possess the capacity for ultimate evil. Holly had briefly mentioned that the metallurgist had a spike that he was going to drive into her brain to make her more compliant. She had shuddered and grown very quiet after describing it with the maximum possible brevity. If this truly was one of Groot's stakes, then the only way Lucia would be able to avoid becoming Sebastian's mindless slave was if he failed at performing the magic correctly. So she prayed for all she was worth.

"Hold her still, Jon," Sebastian ordered. He stepped to the right side of her head, allowing the dempire to take his place at the head of the table. The hulking male grasped either side of her head in his massive hands, turning it roughly so that she could see nothing but the grey concrete ceiling of her cell. She felt a small, cold pinprick on her right temple.

She had been fairly successful at remaining outwardly calm up until this point, but now she began to struggle wildly against her bonds, desperate to break them. But all she met was unyielding resistance to her efforts. Sebastian smiled down at her. Cutting her eyes to the side, she could see that he held a hammer in his right hand.

"See you on the other side," he said softly.

And the hammer swung down so swiftly it became a blur. Lucia let out a scream of rage and frustration at her inability to fight back.

Then her scream was cut off abruptly as pain burst through her mind. For a brief moment, she felt the horrible sensation of the cold metal driving into her brain. Then everything went black.


	11. Chapter 11

**So. It's been a long time since I last updated. A REALLY long time. Sorry about that! I've had the story finished in my head for a long time, but the holidays came and I got distracted from writing it down. However, a recent bout of boredom has gotten me writing again. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Yes, it's still very dark. And I honestly don't think that anyone still reading the story at this point is going to be bothered by that, so I'm not even going to apologize.**

**As always, Kresley Cole owns IAD, not me.**

**Enjoy!**

As Lucia swam back to consciousness, the first thing she became aware of was a certain… wrongness. Yes, something was definitely off. There was a strange… heaviness in her head; some unfamiliar weight. And there was pain. Splitting pain, excruciating pain.

An image of a heavy hammer slicing through the air flashed into her mind's eye. Oh, gods no. The spike. _No._ Surely she could not be conscious if that wickedly sharp stake were still lodged in her skull. It was impossible. Her body should have pushed it out of her as she healed.

Hesitantly, she lifted her left hand. She could feel it trembling as she reached up to feel her head, to confirm that the spike could not possibly still be driven into her skull.

"Don't move."

Her hand was stopped short mere inches from her head. What? Since when did she take orders? She went to move her hand again, but her body did not seem to be working properly; her fingers did not so much as twitch. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids did not so much as flutter.

Had she been paralyzed? No; she had just lifted her hand, hadn't she? It was as though her body were completely disconnected from her mind.

Realization dawned.

_No. No no no no no no no no no no_…..

"Open your eyes."

Against her volition, Lucia's eyes snapped open. Sebastian's face filled her vision, looming over her. She wanted to lunge forward, to throttle him; to flay his skin with her claws so that that smug look could never cross his face again. But her body remained completely still, her hand still hovering absurdly above her.

_Oh, gods!_

"Lower your arm."

Lucia's hand dropped back to the table on which she was lying with a thud. She wanted to scream in rage, but her cry was nothing but a strangled sound which was muffled by her lips, which remained resolutely closed.

Sebastian's smile broadened as he inhaled deeply, as though savoring a decadent aroma. "Excellent. Groot's spell has not failed me, it seems. I control your body, but your mind is still your own. I can sense your rage, your fear. I will still be able to harvest power from your emotional turmoil even though you will obey me without question. I had not foreseen this. How delightful."

This could not happen! She could fight this. She _would _fight this. She threw all of her willpower into leaping up and ripping the sorcerer to shreds with her claws.

Her muscles did not tense with the mental strain she was putting herself through. To her horror, she realized that her claws were not even straightening to reflect her aggression. Panic clouded her mind.

Sebastian inhaled again, his eyes nearly rolling back in his head in ecstasy.

"Perfect, perfect," he almost crooned, his eyes dreamy. He seemed almost delirious, intoxicated by the power he was absorbing from her fear.

After a few moments, Sebastian visibly shook himself, his focus sharpening.

"Now, let's lay some ground rules. You are not to move- to do anything- without my express permission. You will obey every order I give you with unquestioning alacrity. And you will never, ever, attempt to harm me or anyone else at the institute in any way."

He cocked his head at her, considering.

"But I think we should run a few more tests. Stand up."

Lucia willed herself to remain still, but her body betrayed her once again. She was alarmed at the swiftness with which she swung her legs off the table and got to her feet. A sickening pain jolted though her head as she shifted her weight. It seemed as though her head should be canting to the side with the weight of the spike, but her neck was straight, her stance normal. Although she could only look straight ahead, she could see that she was no longer in her cell. She seemed to be standing in a lavishly decorated study, with wood-paneled walls, a Persian rug, and antique furniture. Was she still in the institute? Or had she been moved to a different facility altogether?

Garreth was nowhere in sight. She took it as a small blessing that he could not see her like this.

A frown creased Sebastian's brow. "I can sense your relief. Tell me why you feel this."

Hating him, Lucia felt her mouth open. "I am glad Garreth is not here to see me like this," her voice betrayed her.

His frown melting away, the corners of Sebastian's lips curled upward cruelly.

"Oh, don't worry. As soon as the director sees my success and gives his approval, you will be seeing MacRieve again. And then you will kill him for me."

Lucia's blood turned to ice. No. Surely he could not force her to do that. She would be able to stop herself. She _had_ to be able to stop herself.

"Hmmm," Sebastian clucked his tongue. "It seems you are in denial. Allow me to demonstrate just how helpless you are."

He extended his right hand, palm up, and a dagger appeared out of thin air. Grasping it, he extended it towards Lucia, hilt-first.

"Take it," he ordered.

Lucia reached out and took hold of the dagger, but try as she might, she could not plunge it into Sebastian's heart as she wished.

"Cut your arm."

Lucia's left arm extended, and her right hand swung the dagger in a downward arc. But she had some control in this. He had not specified how deeply she had to cut herself. With a feeling of triumph, she stopped the motion short and barely nicked the skin of her forearm.

"Tsk, tsk," Sebastian chided. "You are clever, I'll give you that. But you need to learn that that will not save you. Cut your arm as you would like to cut mine, if you could."

The dagger was a silvery blur as it drove into her arm. She felt the pain as the razor-sharp steel pierced her skin, tearing though flesh and bone until the dagger was buried in her arm to the hilt. But she could not stop herself. She ripped the blade free and raised it high once again, ready to plunge it back in. Horror arose through the pain. She knew she was going to hack her own arm off, just as she would do to Sebastian.

"Stop."

Lucia froze, the point of the dagger just millimeters from her skin. Blood fell in thick, crimson drops from the gaping wound.

"I may order you to tear yourself apart for my amusement later, but for now I need you relatively whole. We have to demonstrate my triumph to the director later, and it would not do to have you in pieces when he arrives. Although with the power I am harvesting from you now, it will not be long before _I_ will be taking the director's place. Especially after I have you destroy MacRieve." He let out a sigh of pleasure.

"And to think how much effort I had to exert before to break him. Not that taking my pleasure from you wasn't satisfying," he reached out and lazily traced his fingers around her breast.

In her panic, Lucia hadn't even noticed that she was still naked. Now shame and disgust rolled over her in a hot wave, searing her veins.

"But it really did take far too much effort," he continued. "I wasted considerable amounts of power breaking into your mind and harvesting your memories. Now I needn't bother. With one command, I could have you writhing in pain at my feet. Or begging for my cock." He smiled and twisted her nipple cruelly. She could not even flinch away.

"In fact, I rather like the idea. And I very much like the delectable mixture of emotions the thought of that elicits from you. Maybe we should bring your Lykae in to watch again." His grin widened. "You _really_ don't like the idea of that, do you?

"Yes, it's decided then. But I think I'll wait a bit; savor your dread until you are nearly mad from anticipating the event. Because it will happen. Just before you kill him for me."

Lucia felt sick. She had to break free of this. She _must!_

_Oh, gods! Oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods….._

The words repeated like a litany in her head as her emotions roiled within her: rage, hatred, disgust, and, above all, a rising panic that seemed to curl upward from the pit of her stomach to latch around her throat like some choking vine. Her vision was darkening, but she remained standing, frozen, still holding the dagger above her arm.

"Breathe," Sebastian ordered.

Air filled her oxygen-starved lungs, denying her the release of unconsciousness.

"Now, I'm going to make a few notes on our progress here today." He seated himself in a plush armchair in the center of the room, clutching a small notebook in his hand.

"You will wait in silence while I work. Come and kneel beside me."

Lucia's feet carried her across the room to him. Her traitorous knees folded.

"I think I should give you something to do to pass the time while I work. Take the dagger and carve my name into your forearm, the one that isn't damaged. Shallowly at first. But keep going over it until you reach the bone. And do make sure to use your best penmanship," he smirked.

She had never hated herself more than she did at this moment. Not when she was being raped by Cruach; not even when she had been used by Sebastian in front of Garreth. At least then she had some hope of fighting, the possibility of retaliation. Now she was ruined, truly powerless. And she was not at all certain that she would be able to stop herself from killing Garreth.

Pain seared across her arm as the blade sliced into her flesh. Blood welled up at once, immediately obscuring the crimson "S" that she had traced into her skin. She prayed to die.

**So what do you think? R & R please! And more chapters are coming very, very soon! I promise! There are only going to be about four more, and I have already handwritten two of them. I'll try to get it all posted and finalized without going on another extended hiatus!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Yay! Freshly transcribed chapters, as promised. Garreth is still angsty in this chapter at first, but all that pain leads to the turning point. **

**I'm worried that the exposition regarding Garreth's intense feelings of pain and self-loathing are perhaps getting a bit repetitive at this point, but it's been so long since I wrote the earlier chapters that I didn't notice it so much until I was rewriting this. But then again, it makes sense to me that a caged and helpless Lykae would find himself mulling over and over his failure. So I apologize if it seems all too familiar at first, but I promise that it does serve a purpose in advancing the plot.**

**I'm getting a bit bored with the disclaimer at this point. But it's necessary to give credit where credit is due: all hail the fab Kresley Cole for creating these wonderful characters! I own nothing. **

**A few things to remember about the IAD world for this chapter: The Accession is coming; the Vertas are the good immortals; the Pravus are the evil immortals. Of course there are good reasons for their being evil. As despicable as Sebastian is, it is only natural that he delights in causing others pain because it feeds his power. And in a world full of lethal and vicious supernatural beings, fostering that power is essential to survival. But I can still hate the bastard.**

**I'll shut up now. I hope you enjoy!**

Garreth was enraged, but unable to fully turn. He was still incredibly weakened from the injuries he had inadvertently inflicted upon himself when Sebastian was raping Lucia.

_Oh, gods._

Lucia. His Lucia. His mate. She had been tortured and raped before his eyes, and he had been powerless to stop it. The beast within him had attempted to destroy itself, destroy him, in its despair and rage. If he was unable to protect his mate, he did not deserve to live.

But now Garreth's thoughts were clearer, more human, than they had been since Lucia's capture. He was so weakened that he was not able to fully let his beast out of its cage, as much as he might wish to. At least in that state his thoughts were simple, primal. There was pain, yes; agony over being incapable of helping his mate. But his beast state impaired his ability to formulate coherent thoughts, to image what she might be suffering right now. Sickening images of torture and violation flashed across his mind's eye in unrelenting succession.

It was made even worse by the fact that this was all that he _could _see. His body was slowly healing, but he was still blind, his eyes still in the painstaking process of regenerating.

Lucia had been taken from her cell some time ago. He had heard the ring of metal on metal, the sickening crunch as Sebastian had driven the spike into her skull.

And everything had stopped again: her screaming, her breathing, her heart. It was all Garreth could do to keep from tearing himself apart again. No, he had promised Lucia he would not harm himself. Her final request.

But it was more than that. He didn't _deserve_ the satisfaction of pain, of the unconscious state he would reach if he caused himself enough damage. No, he did not deserve that release.

So he had focused all of his energy on monitoring Lucia. Despite his inability to hear her intake and outtake of breath and the rhythmic beating of her heart, he could still smell her. And, blessedly, the scent did not fade or putrefy, which meant that she was healing. Although for all intents and purposes her body was dead.

Garreth knew that much time must have passed, but the minutes and hours seemed interminable, as though he were some ancient, remote being who had watched the world so long that time no longer held any meaning. There was only darkness, silence, and the scent of Lucia.

Eventually, her heart had begun to flutter weakly, erratically, in her cest. Her unsteady breaths rattled in her throat, but the sound was the most precious he had ever heard. But no sooner had these sounds, the most important sounds in his world, returned to him than they were taken from him once again.

Sebastian had returned almost as soon as her breathing had resumed.

"Right on time. It seems my experiment may have actually worked." Garreth could hear the smile in his voice and hated him all the more for it. Despite his promise to Lucia, he flung himself blindly at the bars of his cage, desperate to destroy the evil fuck who tormented his mate. The action was fruitless, but the sound of his ruined claws raking against the bars drew the sorcerer's attention.

"Still with us then, MacRieve? Excellent. It would have been a shame to have you die before I force her to kill you. It will be the final test of her obedience. And I daresay the act will break any shred of spirit left in her. Then she will serve us well in our cause. Not only will she give up the secrets of the Vertas immortals, but she will help us destroy them. Imagine how seeing her betray her own sisters will break their morale. The triumph of the Pravus is all but assured this Accession. And it will be _my_ triumph."

A part of Garreth knew that the prospect of the downfall of the Vertas should disturb him. But all he could focus on was how Lucia would be destroyed from the inside out in being forced to do such things. And she would not even be granted the release of death, as it seemed he would. Garreth could not imagine a more terrible fate for his mate.

"Pick her up, Jon. I want her transported to my quarters while I run some tests. Then we can bring her back to the Lykae so that she can dispose of him."

And with the slamming of a metal door, all awareness of Lucia was lost to him, only faint traces of her lingering scent remained as a testament to the fact that she had even been there at all.

Garreth felt dead inside. Indeed, he longed for the true end.

But no. He did not deserve that. Not when Lucia would be forced to linger on in perpetual agony.

He dropped to his knees and did what all desperate beings do when confronted with insurmountable circumstances: he prayed.

_Great Woeden and Freya, I know that you sleep, but I beg you to awaked. Your daughter Lucia is in agony. She faces a fate worse than death. You canna abandon your own kin to such torment. You _canna_._

Garreth's rage washed over him in a red haze.

_You _will _not! I won't allow it! I will free Lucia if it's the last thing I do. I will give anything, _anything_, if only you will save her. And you _will_ save her, damn you both. Answer me! Wake up! What use are sleeping gods? What is the point of _being_ gods when you canna even protect your own? What is the point of existing? Now wake up, curse you! WAKE UP!_

The ground beneath Garreth's knees began to shake. A blinding white light drove the darkness from his eyes. And inhuman voices filled his head, resonating with terrible power.

_Your insolence is noted, Lykae_, a booming male voice said.

_Be that as it may, your… vehement prayer, added to those of the Valkyrie, witches, and Lykae, has granted us sufficient strength to awaken._ A female voice, this time.

The goddess continued._ We will not abandon our daughter to this fate. But she lies beyond our reach now. Some great evil shields her from us. We will lend her what strength we can, but it will be up to you to save her. Do not fail us, Lykae._

_No, _Garreth growled. _I will no fail. I vow it to the Lore._

_Then go with our blessing, _the male voice intoned._ But mind you show proper respect from now on. We would not have heeded you were it not for our daughter._

Suddenly, the white light flared brighter, bathing Garreth in scorching heat. He welcomed the inferno as the flames seared the weakness out of his bones. His muscles bulged with renewed strength and his claws lengthened.

The light faded away and he found that he could see again; his eyes were fully regenerated. The bars that had surrounded him were gone, reduced to molten pools at his feet.

Extending his claws, he let his beast fully out of its cage and flung himself at the metal door of his cell. The steel shredded under his claws as easily as paper.

Catching the remnants of Lucia's scent, he launched himself down the corridor in the direction she had been taken. The gods help whoever tried to stand in his way.

Fuck it, the gods _damn_ whoever tried to stand in his way.

**So things are looking up! FINALLY! Garreth is so sexy when he's being a badass.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck through the doom and darkness that is this fic. Love yall! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support. xoxo**


	13. Chapter 13

**Two new chapters in one go! Huzzah! Finally, finally, FINALLY, we see some action.**

**Enjoy!**

**(I don't own these characters; Kresley Cole does. I just mistreat them horribly.)**

Garreth was covered in blood and gore, but little of it was his own. He had not counted those he had killed as he raged through long corridors and up flight after flight of stairs, always following Lucia's scent.

And now he had nearly reached her. He could smell her unique scent, tinged with blood and sweat, stronger than it had been since she had been taken from her cell. There was a wooden door at the end of the hall. Lucia lay on the other side, he knew it.

With a roar, Garreth threw his full weight at the door, and it splintered under his onslaught. He caught a brief glimpse of the sorcerer seated in a winged armchair. But as soon as he burst into the room, Sebastian raised his arm, palm facing outward, and Garreth found himself frozen in midstep.

_Fuck!_

In his suspended state, he noticed the hunched figure beside the sorcerer.

"Lousha," he whispered.

His mate was kneeling on the floor beside the high-backed chair, but she gave no sign of having heard him say her name. Ice filled the pit of Garreth's stomach as he took in her appearance.

Her usually luminous skin was dull, her lustrous brown locks lank and dampened with sweat. And her eyes, her beautiful eyes, were filled with pain and anguish as the remained riveted on the dagger she held in her left hand.

Garreth could hear the scrape of metal on bone as the traced a bloody pattern into her right forearm repeatedly.

Blood welled up from the wound and fell to the floor in crimson streams, staining the carpet beneath her knees where it had pooled around her.

But most terrible to behold was the spike. Two inches of metal jutted out sickeningly from her left temple, gleaming dully in the dimly lit room. How could she be conscious, be _alive_, with that thing lodged in her brain?

Seeing the evil device for the first time made Garreth want to be sick. And here he was again, frozen; trapped; unable to help his mate.

_Fuck. This._

Garreth had not been blessed and healed by gods just to fail now. He had sworn that he would not fail Lucia.

Flexing his muscles, he felt the air around his body as a heavy, palpable force, keeping him in place with its great weight.

But fully healed with his beast out of its cage, Garreth could have lifted a mountain in his desperation to save Lucia.

And so he fought against the pressing weight that held him immobile. Gritting his teeth, he forced his knee to bend, his leg to extend, and he took one step towards Lucia and her tormenter.

"You will no hold me this time, sorcerer," he ground out through gritted teeth. "This time, you _will_ die."

Sebastian's eyes widened in fear as he saw Garreth somehow, impossibly, continuing to advance slowly toward him. He darted his eyes at Lucia.

"Defend me!" he barked. "Kill the Lykae."

Lucia watched her body rise to its feet gracefully as though in a dream. Inside, she was screaming, desperate to fight the compulsion to move forward. But there was nothing to fight; she had no sense of connection to her body's movements, so she could not strain to stop herself. Her feet continued to move towards the man she loved, her arm raising the dagger to strike.

No! _No! NO!_

"No."

It was hardly more than a strangled whisper, but the sound shocked her. How had she managed to speak?

But she had no time to contemplate her small victory as she watched the dagger descend towards Garreth's neck in a shining arc, her blood splattering off the blade as it sliced through the air.

In an impossible burst of speed and strength, impaired as he was by Sebastian's spell, Garreth avoided the blow. Heedless of the pain, he caught the dagger by the blade and ripped it from her grasp. Slick with their mingled blood, the knife slipped from his hand to fly across the room, shattering as it hit the wall.

But even weaponless, Lucia could not stop the onslaught of her attack.

Her straightened claws shot out. Garreth dodged as best he could, but her claws caught his shoulder, tearing through skin and muscle.

Lucia knew that she was going to kill him if he did not stop her. And she could not live with herself if she killed him. But Sebastian would not grant her the release of death; he would force her to live on, shattered by the memory of destroying the only man she had ever loved. And if he could make her kill her mate, he could force her to turn on her sisters.

No, better to die than to live through that. Grasping for the only power left to her, Lucia struggled to find her voice as she watched her claws shred through Garreth's chest, seeking to pluck out his heart.

"Please," she whispered softly.

"_Please_." It was stronger this time, coming out of her in a desperate groan. Her eyes locked with Garreth's, willing him to heed her.

"Kill me. Don't… let me. Don't make me… live like this…"

Garreth stared into her eyes, his stubborn gaze breaking her heart. She knew his answer before he opened his mouth.

"No, Lousha. I canna."

A terrible wail ripped its way up her throat, half-scream, half-sob. Tears blurred her vision until all she could make out clearly was the deep crimson of Garreth's blood gushing from the wounds that she could not stop herself from inflicting.

Lucia's despairing wail cut him more deeply than her claws ever could. Drawing on all of his strength, Garreth forced his way forward in one great leap, knocking Lucia aside. The sorcerer was before him, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Garreth wanted to make the bastard suffer, to enjoy killing him slowly. But getting Lucia to safety was more important than his vengeance.

He did not hesitate. His lengthened claws drove through the sorcerer's throat, easily slicing through sinew and bone until they protruded from the back of his neck. Garreth allowed himself a heartbeat's pause to savor the bastard's pain.

In that moment, he felt Lucia's sharp claws drive into either side of his own neck, She was still under Sebastian's control, compelled by his final command. Garreth had to destroy him before she carried out the sorcerer's orders.

Ignoring the pain of her ripping claws, Garreth wrenched his arms outward, tearing the remaining muscle and skin that held Sebastian's head on his shoulders.

The sorcerer's now-lifeless body crumpled, his severed head hitting the floor with a muted thud.

He heard Lucia's breath leave her in a rush. Her hands fell from his neck as she collapsed, a marionette with her strings cut.

For a moment, he feared the worst. Had her life been tied to Sebastian's?

But no. She was breating; her heart was beating. But her open eyes were deadened, the light behind them gone.

"Lousha?" He asked gently.

No response.

"Lousha!"

Her eyes stared blankly ahead.

Cursing, he gathered her up in his arms and frantically surveyed the room for a quick exit. He would find a way to bring her back to him or die trying.

**So we're not out of the woods yet, but we're coming towards the end. I think there are about two more chapters. We'll be getting some Bowen and Mariketa next chapter (natch), so I hope fans of that fantabulous couple like it!**

**More coming asap. Promise.**

**For now, R & R, please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**So I know I promised this sooner. Sorry! Shortly after posting the last two chapters, one of my close family members fell ill and passed away. It took me a while before I felt like writing again. So I apologise.**

**But here are two shiny new chapters. I hope you are all still invested in the story! Enjoy!**

**I own nothing. These characters belong to Kresley Cole. Duh.**

For the first time in- How long had it been? Days? Weeks?- Garreth could smell fresh, clean air somewhere nearby. It was a sharp contrast to the stagnant air that had filled their cells, which had been located far below ground level. Garreth's rampage towards Lucia as he followed her scent had been a blur of long corridors, winding stairs, and blood. He vaguely had an impression of upward movement. Yes, he must be above ground level now.

Garreth could hear a commotion somewhere below him, shouts and barked orders. The dead that he had left in his wake must have been discovered. He had to get Lucia out before they traced his progress to Sebastian's quarters!

He scanned the room for an alternative exit than the one which led back into the corridor. Turning towards the part of the room where the air smelled freshest, Garreth spied a wooden door directly across from the one he had smashed through to get to Lucia. Cradling her in his arms, he burst through it as well, not noticing the sting as splinters embedded themselves in his naked flesh.

The door had led to a small bathroom, and –yes!- there was a window. Outside the glass was dark as pitch, and Garreth sent up a silent prayer of thanks for the cover of darkness. He wore only the filthy, tattered remains of his jeans, and Lucia was still completely naked. The thought flooded his mind with rage, but he had no time to find something with which to cover her. He could hear the shouts of alarm and sound of pounding feet growing louder.

Shielding Lucia as best he could, he shoved his shoulder through the window, shattering the glass. Shards of it left crimson gouges in his skin as he lept through the gaping hole into the night.

He was assaulted with the scents of the city: tarmac, gasoline, concrete, the stench of humans. Here could never have guessed those scents would smell so sweet, so different were they from the close dankness of his cell, the metal of the bars of his cage, the coppery scent of freshly spilled blood.

_My Lousha's blood._

That particular scent still invaded his nostrils. Deep red rivulets were winding their way down her arm where Sebastian had forced her to cut herself with the dagger. Garreth realized with alarm that the wound was not healing as it should.

_Have tae fix her. Have tae find help._

But who? Who could fix her?

_Bowen. Bowen's witch!_

Garreth now hated magic with every fiber of his being, but if there was anyone who could save Lucia, it was Mariketa the Awaited.

Garreth had been blindly running down a darkened alleyway, toward streetlights ahead. When he reached the edge of the shadows, he paused, not wanting to be seen.

Just across the street, a green sedan was parallel parked. Checking to make sure the road was clear, he dashed across the street. He broke the driver's side window and unlocked the car from the inside. He wrenched the door open and gently laid Lucia across the front seat, resting her head on his lap once he was in the driver's seat.

Thank the gods he knew how to hotwire a car. The engine roared to life, and, with a screech of tires he sped off into the night.

**So that was a shorter one, but there is another new one straightaway! PLEASE R&R!**

**Also, Bowen and Mariketa POVs next chapter for those of you who are tired of Garreth and Lucia angst!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Next one, as promised. Yay Bowen and Mari!**

Bowen was roused from his sleep by the sound of a car tearing up his gravel driveway. At once, he leapt out of bed, his body on full alert.

"Bowen? What's wrong?" Mariketa's voice was slurred with sleep.

"Stay here," he growled, perhaps more harshly than he should have.

As he bounded down the stairs, he heard the car grind to a halt. He cursed as he heard Mari's soft footsteps following him. Just as he turned to order her back, he hear the shout.

"BOWEN!"

His name was a roar, a sound only a Lykae could make. Could it be? He had not seen or heard from Garreth in more than two weeks.

"BOWEN! I NEED YER WITCH!"

Bowen could hear his footfalls pounding up the porch now. He wrenched open the front door before his cousin had the chance to break it down.

His blood turned cold at what he saw. He heard Mari's soft gasp behind him.

Garreth's eyes were wild, deranged, and they were ice blue; he was fully turned, almost irreversibly so, the beast was so prominent. His mate, Lucia, was still in his arms, her eyes unseeing. She was more than a little bloody, but what turned his stomach was the silvery spike which protruded from her skull, glinting dully in the moonlight. He could sense the evil coming off of it in waves.

"Wha happened tae you, cousin?" He asked as Garreth reached him, surreptitiously angling his body so that Mari's was shielded by his.

"Captured. Please, Bowen. Please, help me."

Bowen had never seen his cousin look so lost, save for the time he thought he had killed his mate.

Always careful to keep Mari behind him, he stepped aside and allowed Garreth to cross the threshold. He was relieved to have found his cousin alive, but he knew Garreth would not remain so for long if his mate could not be saved.

Mariketa's stomach clenched again as she looked down at Lucia's still form. The Valkyrie might have been dead were it not for the steady rise and fall of her chest. Mari's eyes fell on the spike once again. She could feel the dark magic swirling and seething around the evil object. Its aura spoke of domination, subversion, and twisted power.

She turned to face Garreth, who was standing across the room from where Lucia lay on the bed in their guest room. Bowen's hand gripped his shoulder in a warning for him to come no closer.

"Garreth, please," she said softly, slowly, as though speaking to a trapped, feral animal. "I need you to tell me everything you can about this… this spike."

Garreth's eyes flashed and his fists clenched. Bowen's hand tightened on his shoulder.

"He used it tae control her," he ground out, his voice barely human. "He… He drove it into her head with a hammer and said that he could make her do anything he commanded."

"And did it work?" Mari asked softly, knowing better than to ask who "he" was. Garreth was clearly on the brink of losing control.

The Lykae prince growled and nodded curtly, his expression twisted in anguish.

"How did she come to be like this? Unconscious?" She ventured as gently as she could.

Garreth's face hardened into a mask of pure rage and hatred. Mari fought the urge to shrink back.

"I killed him," he grated through elongated fangs.

Mari took a deep breath and nodded. She had suspected as much. Lucia was still under the influence of the dark magic, but the one who had wielded it was now gone. Because her every move would have depended upon his orders, she could no longer function on her own. It was a miracle that she was still breathing.

Mari locked eyes with Garreth.

"I think I can heal her. I will take a considerable amount of power, but I am fairly certain I can remove the stake."

"_Fairly certain?_" Garreth's fangs flashed white and his icy eyes seemed to spark in fury.

Bowen's claws elongated in response, digging into Garreth's shoulders.

"You will not speak tae my mate that way, cousin," he hissed. "I have half a mind not tae let her do this at all. It seems too dangerous."

Mari glared at her husband.

"You won't _let_ me? I don't think so. I'm doing this, Bowen." Then her tone softened. "What if it were me? What would you do?"

Bowen stared into her eyes for a long moment. "I'll get yer gloves," he said, leaving the room in defeat.

When he returned, he handed her the mirrored gloves she used to focus her power and then returned to guarding Garreth, who still looked as if he might turn feral at any moment.

Mari slipped the gloves on and rubbed her mirrored palms, drawing on as much power as she deemed was safe. The air in the room practically crackled with it. She reached out and wrapped both of her hands around the stake.

She could feel the dark magic more strongly now, slithering and insidious. It seemed to leech into the mirrors on her palms, wriggling its way through her power and into her consciousness. She could feel it coil around her arms, creeping upward. Her body began to feel light, distant from her awareness, like some great weight being lifted.

Distantly, she was aware of Bowen calling her name as her body sagged forward. She felt his strong hands encircle her arms, trying to wrench her back and break her connection with the stake.

_The stake._

Mari's mind suddenly came back into sharp focus. She once again became acutely aware of the dark magic swirling around her and through her. Focusing on her mirrors, whe drew on more of her own magic, using it to drive out the dark force that had coiled around her. With a cry of effort, she shoved back against the dark magic, forcing it out of herself and at the same time pulling it out of Lucia, pushing it back into the stake. As soon as she felt its influence leave both her and Lucia, she wrenched her hands back, ripping the evil object from Lucia's skull. With her remaining strength, she healed the deepest parts of the wound, but she was unable to fully close if before she was forced to let go of her magic. If she had held on any longer, it would have enthralled her again.

She leaned back into Bowen's arms, exhausted. She looked up at Garreth, who was now standing by the bed, running his fingers gently over Lucia's pale cheeks.

"She will finish healing on her own." Mari's voice was hoarse and faint. "I will see if I can do more for her after I rest."

Mari looked at the dark, bloody hole where the stake had been lodged in Lucia's head. She shuddered and turned away from the gory sight.

**So, what do you think? No, seriously. Please tell me! There will be one more chapter after this. I will try to post it soon!**


	16. Chapter 16

**So. This is it. The beginning of the end. My last chapter turned into four chapters, hence the delay. But here it is! Finished! I really hope everyone has enjoyed this story and will enjoy its conclusion. I hope that it hasn't been as predictable as it has been disturbing! Right, onwards!**

**As always, these characters belong to Kresley Cole…**

Lucia opened her eyes to a hazy world of pain. She could not remember the last time she had not been in agony. She blinked several times, and the vague shapes in her field of vision coalesced into recognizable features.

"Lousha?" Came his deep, rumbling voice.

_Garreth_. His face filled her vision, relief plain in his eyes.

And for a moment, relief flooded her as well. "You're alive," she whispered in wonder. The last thing she could remember was her claws ripping into Garreth's throat as her mind screamed at her body to stop. She shuddered, and the slight movement sent a dizzying wave of pain shooting through her head. A small moan escaped her.

But a surge of joy filled her when she realized that she must no longer be under Sebastian's control. She had spoken; she had moved. Could it be? Was she free of him?

"S-Sebastian," her voice quavered as she spoke his name. "Where is he?"

"Shhh, it's alright, my love," he assured her. "The bastard is dead. I ripped his head off myself. We are at Bowen's house. Mariketa has removed that cursed stake, but you still need time to heal."

He reached toward her face to gently stroke her cheek, but she shied away from his touch, disregarding the shooting pain and the stars that burst across her vision from the movement.

She didn't deserve his touch, his comfort. She was more grateful to him than she could say for saving her, but how could he still care for her when she was so weak? She had been violated, and her betrayal of him, unwilling or not, burned like poison in her veins. I was her fault that he had been so tormented, had ripped himself to shreds, had nearly destroyed himself.

_My fault._

She had to send him away, for his own safety. If he thought she no longer loved him, surely he would go, and then she could never be used against him again, could never hurt him again. She was weak, Sebastian had proven that much. If she was too weak to protect herself, to protect him, then she would only bring him more misery. No, the only way she could protect him now was to save him from herself.

She could see the hurt in his eyes when she flinched away from his touch.

"Lousha?"

She knew that the hurt she saw there would only increase tenfold with what she was about to do to him. But she had to. She could do this one last thing for him. Forcing back tears, she hissed, "Don't touch me."

"Lousha, it's alright. It's only me." He reached a tentative hand towards her once again.

"I said, don't touch me!" She forced venom into her words.

The pain in his eyes was nearly unbearable, but he withdrew his hand. She had to get this over with quickly. She could not bear to see more of his misery.

_I have to do this. For him._

"Get out of here! I can't bear to look at you!" She shrieked, allowing some of her inner agony to lace her words.

Garreth reeled back as though she had struck him.

"Lousha, love…" Gods, he looked so lost.

"Do _not_ call me that. How can you possibly call me that after what I did?" No, that wasn't good enough. She couldn't pin this on herself; he would only argue with her. Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she plowed on ruthlessly.

"How can you call me 'love' after what you let him to do me? If you truly loved me, you never would have allowed that to happen. You would have protected me; you wouldn't have let him hurt me; you wouldn't have let him r-rape me." Her voice broke.

"But I do love you," he whispered, looking horrified at her accusations. But she could see that it was working, could see the guilt in his eyes. Yes, he thought it was his fault. And she hated herself for making him feel that. But she had to press on. He had to leave. Now. Or she would break down and beg him for forgiveness.

"I don't love you!" She wailed. "Not anymore. Now get out! LEAVE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Her shriek resonated in her ears and the words seared into her very soul. He stared at her, aghast for a few moments. Then his eyes filled with anguish, and she could see the self-loathing gathering behind them. Tears welled as they began to turn ice blue.

"I'm so sorry Lousha. More sorry than I can ever say." And with that, he turned and left the room, his long strides carrying him quickly away from her. She heard his feet pounding down the stairs as he broke into a run. His howl of despair ripped her heart open. She closed her eyes and finally allowed the tears to begin streaming down her face.


	17. Chapter 17

**In the home stretch now. I hope you enjoy some Regin!**

Mariketa tentatively poked her head around the door to the guest bedroom. It had only been a few minutes since Garreth had stormed out of the house. She wanted to give Lucia a few moments to herself, but she had to check on the Valkyrie.

Lucia lay on the bed, silent sobs wracking her body. Mariketa saw with alarm that the scab over the hole in her head had torn open, and blood was beginning to seep from the wound once again. Shouldn't she be healing by now? She also noticed that the raised red scabs on Lucia's arm had broken open, obscuring the name "Sebastian" that had been carved there. Mari's stomach turned at the sight, but she fought back her nausea and moved toward Lucia.

"Lucia?" She whispered gently.

"Go away," the Valkyrie sobbed.

"I can't do that," she insisted. "Your wounds have broken open; you are not healing properly. Some of the dark magic must still be affecting you in some way. Let me get my gloves-"

Lucia's eyes snapped open. "No!" She cried in alarm. "Don't you dare. Just leave me alone."

Mari hesitated, not wanting to upset her further. "LEAVE ME!" She screamed. Mari gave her a sad look and left the room. She would have to find some way to help Lucia.

_Regin. Regin will help her see sense._

She retrieved her cell phone from her pocket and called the Valkyrie. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hi favorite wiccan-type person. What's up?"

"Regin, I need you to come to my house right away. It's Lucia."

"Oh, gods! Have you been able to locate her?"

"She's here at my house. Arrived last night."

"Why didn't you call me sooner, you bitch? I'll be right over!"

"Wait, Rege. You should know… She's in really bad shape. She's been through something terrible, and she's not healing. She won't let me help her. Maybe you can talk some sense into her."

"I'll be over in ten," Regin said grimly.

Regin let out an involuntary gasp when she saw her best friend lying bloody and still on the bed. In the short time it had taken her to get here, the sheets had begun to turn crimson as Lucia's blood seeped steadily from her wounds. Slowly, she approached her friend.

"Lucia," she breathed.

Her friend's eyes fluttered open. They glistened with tears. Regin grasped her hand, and as she did so she noticed the blood oozing from the name "Sebastian" that had been carved into Lucia's arm. She hissed in rage.

"Who did this to you? I'll kill him! Slowly."

"He's already dead. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. G-Garreth saved me. And I sent him away. I broke his heart. Oh, gods!" She broke off into sobs.

Regin gently rubbed her shoulder. "But why? Why would you do that? Surely you need him now more than ever."

Lucia closed her eyes and shuddered. "I betrayed him," she whispered. "I was too weak. I couldn't protect him. Se-" She choked on his cursed name. "_He_ broke me. And in doing so he broke Garreth. I'm a risk to him; I can only bring him pain. Especially after what I… What I did, what I let _him_ do to me…" She trailed off, unable to say any more.

Regin looked down at her friend, trying to keep the pity from showing on her face. "You are only hurting both of you by driving him away Lucia. I know that he will need you now. And I know that you need him. Let Mari help you. Let Garreth come back."

Lucia fixed her friend with a resolute glare. "No." Her tone was final.

"Gods damn it Lucia!" Regin's temper flared. "You look like you're dying! Stop being an idiot and let Mari fix you."

Lucia's eyes narrowed. "Don't. You. Dare. Go away, Regin."

"Like hell! I will not let you leave me, Lucia! I don't give a shit what you say, you are accepting Mari's help of I have to hold you down and force you to take it!"

"I don't think that will work, Regin," Mari said softly. "I can't heal her if she is unwilling. The magic won't work if she is actively resisting me. Let's give her some time to rest. We can talk outside."

Regin let her breath out in a huff and glared at Lucia. "Don't think this is over, idiot."

She followed Mari down the stairs and out into the bright Louisiana sunshine.

"Alright, what gives?" She snapped. "Aren't you supposed to be all-powerful? Why can't you fix her?"

Mari looked at her sadly.

"At first I thought she wasn't healing because there were some lingering traces of dark magic. But now I'm sure that I can't sense any left." She sucked in a breath. "She's dying, Regin. She's giving up her immortality willingly. She doesn't want to live anymore, and I can't force her to continue on, even if I do close up her wounds."

Regin looked at her, horrified. "No. No! I am not about to let her do that. I will bring that fucking pansy of a Lykae back here and he is going to force her to see reason. Gods, I always thought he was a stupid, hunky lug. Now I know he is!"

She opened her car door and slipped into the driver's seat. "I'll be back as soon as I can. And she had better be alive when I get back, or you will no longer by my favorite wiccan-type person. You will be on my permanent shit list."


	18. Chapter 18

**Penultimate chapter!**

When the sound of her tires spinning madly against Garreth and Lucia's gravel drive had died down, Regin could hear ugly sounds issuing from their house. Lykae howls and roars were punctuated by the sounds of shattering glass and splintering wood. Lucia was not going to be pleased that her hubby was destroying their house, once she got better.

_She _will _get better._

"GARRETH, PRINCE DIPSHIT OF THE LYKAE!" She called. "GET OUT HERE, YOU FUCKTARD!"

Garreth suddenly appeared at the open doorway, where the door had been ripped from its hinges. Oh yeah, Lucia was definitely going to be pissed.

"What do you want, Regin?" The Lykae ground out, his eyes wild and feral, his claws extended. Regin had to fight the urge to move back a step.

"You're coming back to Bowen and Mari's to talk some sense into Lucia. Now."

Garreth growled. "I canna. She doesn't want me. She _hates_ me. I failed her." He seemingly unconsciously began ripping at his chest with his claws, gouging away his flesh.

"Oh, spare me your emo bullshit! She only sent you away because she stupidly thinks that she's protecting you. She thinks that she's a liability to you. And for some bizarre reason I can't comprehend, she doesn't think she deserves you after what she's been through."

"No. It's me. I doona deserve her." He hung his head pathetically.

"You're both idiots!" Regin screamed. "She's _dying_, you asshole! She's giving up her immortality. For some stupid reason she doesn't seem to think that life is worth living without you. Now, are you going to get in this car, or am I going to have to make you?" She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm coming," he said, determination in his eyes. "Doona care what she says. I will not let Lousha die."

"That's the first sensible thing you've said since I've gotten here. Gods, I don't know how you people function without me!"

Garreth and Regin met Mari in the front yard of her house. Garreth's mind was spinning. What if they could not save her? How could he possibly lose her now after all they had been through? He would just have to force her to see reason and that was that.

"I have an idea," Mari said quickly as she approached them. "The damage to Lucia's psyche seems irreparable. After everything she's been through, I don't know if she will be able to be saved, even with your help, Garreth."

"Don't you say-" Garreth began to ground out in fury.

Mari held up a hand. "Let me finish. I think I can remove her memories of what has happened to her, to both of you. You will both be restored to the state you were in before you were captured. If she cannot remember the pain of what she has been through, she will no longer want to die. Would you be willing to give up your memories of what has happened to you?" She directed the question at Garreth.

All of the terrible things Lucia had endured at the hands of Sebastian ran through his mind in a sickening reel of images. She had already suffered enough to last ten lifetimes before she had met that evil bastard. Yes, he would be more than grateful to be rid of those disturbing memories.

"Gladly," he growled. "If you can heal Lucia and get these fucking images out of my head, I will be forever indebted to you."

"Yeah, but you won't remember saying that," Mari frowned.

"I'll remind him," Regin snapped. "Now get on with it, Mari!"


	19. Chapter 19

**This is it folks. The last chapter and the end of the story. I really hope you have enjoyed it! Lots of love to everyone who has commented and favorited!**

Mari entered the guest room, mirrored gloves on her hands and Garreth, Regin, and Bowen in tow.

"Lucia?" She called out to the Valkyrie. No response. She had lost too much blood and slipped into unconsciousness.

"At least she can't argue with us," Regin said from behind her.

"Garreth," Mari caught the Lykae's attention and gestured towards a chair beside the bed. He sat, and she approached them both. She rubbed her mirrors.

"Brace yourself," she warned Garreth. "This is not going to be pleasant for anyone involved."

He nodded.

She seated herself facing Garreth and placed her left palm on Lucia's forehead and her right on Garreth's. She took a deep breath and summoned her power. Gently, she sent out tendrils of magic into their minds, searching for their most recent memories. When she found areas of immense pain and anguish, she flinched, but she steeled her resolve and dove into the memories.

She gasped at the onslaught of agony which flooded her senses. Garreth's most recent memories of worthlessness and self-loathing came to her first, and she felt them almost as sharply as he. Then his memories began to blend with Lucia's as she drew them away from the couple and into herself. They played out like some perverse story told backwards. She experienced the emotions and feelings almost as though they were her own, and she found it difficult to force herself to continue.

Garreth was filled with triumph as he ripped a sorcerer's head from his shoulders. Lucia sobbed as her body tried to murder Garreth while her mind rebelled. Garreth was imbued with strength by the gods so that he could save his mate. Lucia was flooded with panic and a sense of worthlessness as she kneeled on the floor, carving a name into her arm over and over until the dagger scraped against bone. Garreth waited with bated breath for Lucia's body to regenerate. Lucia watched in dread as a silvery hammer drove a metal spike into her skull. Lucia attempted to destroy Sebastian, only to be stopped by a vicious wave of pleasure and pain which swept over her in an incapacitating tide. At the horrifying sensation, Mari nearly wrenched herself away from the Valkyrie, but she forced herself to hang on. Garreth ripped himself apart as he helplessly watched the sorcerer rape his mate. The last thing he heard before passing out from blood loss were her moans of pleasure. Lucia clung to a wave of pure bliss as someone drove his cock in and out of her, only to open her eyes and realize that Sebastian had wrought this pleasure, not Garreth. She hated herself. And then Mari was blasted with sensations so terrible that she threw back her head and screamed. She was consumed by the most exquisite pleasure and most intense agony she had ever known. It was unbearable. Surely she would go mad from the diametrically opposed sensations being inflicted upon her….

Then suddenly, mercifully, her arms were wrenched backwards, ripping her away from Garreth and Lucia and breaking their connection. She was wrapped in Bowen's arms where she collapsed against him, sobbing and shaking. And yet she knew that what she had experienced was just a fraction of what Lucia herself had actually endured.

Garreth let out a roar. Lousha! His Lousha was being tortured by that sick bastard! Oh, gods, he was touching her, hurting her, and there was nothing he could do. But he could suddenly no longer hear her screams. He looked around himself frantically for his mate.

She was lying on a bed beside him, her eyes closed. He watched as bloody wounds on her head and arms slowly closed, the skin knitting back together. He was not in a cage, was not separated from Lucia by those damned bars.

He looked around him. He was in a small bedroom, and Regin was looking on in horror. Bowen cradled a sobbing Mariketa in a chair across from him.

"What the ruddy hell is going on?" He demanded. "Where is Sebastian? Where is the bastard? I'll kill him! I'll rip-"

"You already have," Regin said levelly.

"What?" Garreth was at a loss. Clearly he was no longer imprisoned and was in the company of friends, but how the hell had he gotten from that cursed cell to Bowen's house in a matter of moments?

"You've been through a lot. Both of you," Regin replied. "You were held prisoner for over two weeks. Lucia was tortured, and by the time you killed her tormenter and rescued her, she was dying, giving up her immortality. So Mari here offered to remove your memories of the trauma in order to save her. Although she doesn't seem to have finished-"

"And she bloody won't!" Bowen growled, still stroking Mari's hair.

"Well, hopefully the worst of the memories have been removed," Regin shrugged. "Look, she's healing. It must have worked."

Garreth looked down at Lucia and saw that her wounds were now fully closed. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks and reached out a shaking hand to stroke his Lousha's cheek. At his touch, her eyes opened, and she looked up at him through startled, pain-filled eyes.

"Garreth? What happened?" She looked around. "Where are we?"

"Shhh, my love. We're free. You're safe. Sebastian is dead and will never harm you again."

He sighed in relief when she leaned into his touch, covering the hand that touched her cheek with her own.

"I'm so sorry Garreth. I'm so sorry for getting into that mess. I know I hurt you." She turned her head away, ashamed. He gently gripped her chin and pulled her gaze back to his.

"Doona apologize. We could argue for millennia about who was at fault. It was neither of our faults. It was the fuckers at that damned institute. And we will bring them down, my love. I will explain everything later, but for now, it is enough that you are safe. I love you so much."

"I love you too," she whispered. "Thank you."

He leaned down and kissed her, gently at first. Then his lips turned more demanding, her mouth opened for him and she sighed, overjoyed to be back in his arms where she belonged. She knew that if he opened them, she would always run into them.

THE END.

**So, a happy ending . Although I put this couple through the wringer in this fic, I would never abandon them to darkness and death. I love them too much. I quite enjoyed having the chance to play with Bowen, Mari, and Rege as well. There are so many fun characters in this series, and I can't wait for the next book!**

**Thanks again to everyone who has read this! I know that the IAD threads don't get as much traffic as some others, so I really appreciate everyone who has been so supportive throughout the writing process. Please, I will make a final request for reviews. I would love to know what you think of the conclusion!**

**Love to all of you!**


	20. Author's Note

**Sorry, nothing new on this story. It's finished! But I thought I might shamelessly pimp out my new story that I am currently working on in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. If you haven't read the series, you should! If you have, and you enjoyed my IAD story, then maybe you will enjoy my MI one as well. Yes, it also involves rape. But I feel that often romance-type novels flirt with the idea of an antagonist having a sick obsession with the heroine, but they never really push the envelope. So I push it.**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who stuck with my Garreth and Lucia story. I hope you enjoyed it! Mosey on over to my MI story, "Forever Mine," if you feel like it! Love!**


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